In the event of World War 3, women could be called up to join the UK’s army. With multiple ongoing conflicts around the world, it could be possible another world war breaks out.
The war in Ukraine escalated in 2022 with Putin still refusing to stop his invasion of Ukraine. This week, tensions in the Middle East spiked after US strikes hit Iran’s targets. The Israel-Palestine conflict is also ongoing and you might be wondering what could happen if war does break out. In World War 2, women’s contributions to the war effort looked different to those of men, but what would happen today?
“The question of how a third world war might erupt haunts us today more than at any time since the end of the last world war,” says author Richard Overy in The Telegraph.
Rising tensions could see the UK need to introduce conscription. In WW2, conscription began for men aged between 20 to 22 in 1939, up to six months before the war actually broke out but for women, things worked differently.
The UK Parliament website says: “In December 1941 Parliament passed a second National Service Act.
“It widened the scope of conscription still further by making all unmarried women and all childless widows between the ages of 20 and 30 liable to call-up.
“Men were now required to do some form of National Service up to the age of 60, which included military service for those under 51.
“The main reason was that there were not enough men volunteering for police and civilian defence work, or women for the auxiliary units of the armed forces.”
Although it is unlikely that conscription will be enforced in the UK today, it is possible that women could get drafted, too, reports Metro.
Currently, only three countries conscript women and men on the same formal conditions: Norway, Sweden, and the Netherlands.
By the end of 1941, women and “all childless widows” between the ages of 20 and 30 were called up, while men aged up to 51 were called up for military service.
Even those aged 52 to 60 were required to take part in “some form of military service”.
A YouGov survey carried out on 3044 people in late January found that 72% supported women being conscripted as well as men.
It remains unclear what conscription would look like if war does break out in the next decade.