Women’s groups within the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) want the recently approved voluntary military‑service questionnaire to be expanded and to be made compulsory for women as well. In a motion for the CDU national convention-reported by the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” papers-the union’s women argue that the current voluntarism model needs to evolve quickly and that women should be more fully incorporated into service. In the long term they see women performing mandatory service in the armed forces or in social‑care roles.
The motion states that both men and women should be required to complete the questionnaire in view of the new Federal Armed Forces notice. It also calls for the questionnaire to be broadened: if a respondent indicates they do not wish to serve in the military, the form should then ask whether they would consider work in the social sector or in civil and disaster‑response duties. That information would be forwarded to welfare organisations and civil‑defence groups such as the Technical Relief Service (THW) or the German Red Cross so that they could target interested individuals.
The CDU women also support a mandatory social‑years scheme across Germany and propose a constitutional amendment to make it lawful. The idea is that every cohort of young people would have to complete a compulsory year of service-either in the Bundeswehr or in the social sector. Under current constitutional law only men can be conscripted or imposed with civil‑service duties.
Germany introduced a new, initially voluntary, military service on 1 January 2026. Initially all men and women born in 2008 or later are being contacted and asked to complete a questionnaire about their suitability for armed‑forces service. Men are required to answer; women are not. Should the new approach fail to attract enough volunteers, the coalition has reserved the right to introduce a “need‑based conscription”.
The CDU women demand that the incentives attached to the new military service also apply to alternatives. Under the current plan, a service member receives a gross salary of €2,600 per month, with possible subsidies for obtaining a driver’s licence.
