Artur Sakunts doesn’t exclude that women may also be mandatorily conscripted to the army
07:19, June 25, 2013 | News | Rights of Soldiers/Recruits | Armed Forces
Granting girls the right and the chance to study in military institutions may in the future develop into compulsory military conscription of women, Artur Sakunts, Chairman of Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor office, told Tert.am.
“The current tendencies, related to recruitment and other issues, speak of problems that exist regarding resource enhancement and recruitment”, stated Artur Sakunts.
“I don’t think so”, stated Artsrun Hovhannisyan, spokesman of Armenia’s Ministry of Defense, who, however, categorically denied any possibility of women’s recruitment due to lacking numbers in the Army.
“Human rights defenders may say anything, they have become military experts,” he added.
Moreover, in case of such a political decision, women’s recruitment requires not only legislative but also constitutional amendments, since the relevant article of the Constitution stipulates that only males above the age of 18 are entitled to serve in the RA Armed Forces.
Nonetheless, the human rights defender does not object to women’s recruitment in terms of gender equality.
“However, as long as the problem of non-statutory relations exists along with psycho-moral setting both in Armenia’s army and military schools, it will hardly change anything. I have strong doubts,” he said.
According to human rights defender, there are neither insuperable stereotypes, nor stereotyped mentality. “When Aytsemnik and mother Sose went to war… women also partook during the Battle of Sardarabad, was that also a mentality?”, questioned the human rights defender.