Time for women to serve NS and challenge outmoded gender norms

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Gender-neutral conscription changes the narratives around what have long been considered the distinct domains of "women's work" and "men's work".

technology has increased the ways in which defence is enacted. The Singapore Armed Forces is slated to establish a new Digital and Intelligence Service (DIS) by the end of this year. In time, having women in the DIS could also help rectify the gender gap in high-paying IT jobs.

Women may in future also be required to do NS due to Singapore's declining fertility rate

biological realities need not constrain a broad spectrum of individuals from serving and participating in the defence framework of Singapore. Indeed, each gender contains within it vast diversity, which explains why not every male NSF is suited to being an officer cadet.

One justification proffered for excluding women from NS is that the pain of childbearing is an "unofficial" form of national service that they endure. 

It would also be a powerful cultural signal in favour of gender equality. The two-year sacrifice in one's prime is a sensitive issue for many Singaporean men. It often provokes a mixture of pride in one's service, but also resentment that their sacrifice is sometimes unshared and underappreciated.

One oft-cited downside of extending NS to women is that, at the younger end of the spectrum, there could be a labour force shrinkage.

Qn: In your society, how far is equality for all a reality? (Cam. 2012)