The Kerlian Parliament is set to debate on Monday afternoon whether or not to allow a limited number of male citizens to join the Kerlian military. Currently, males are forbidden from joining the military and are not eligible for conscription. Female Kerlian citizens are expected to complete two years of National Service upon turning 18, though this may be deferred for educational reasons as long as it is completed before the age of 25. There are some exceptions for disability, though some disabled people are instead expected to complete equivalent service if they are able to work in other capacities.
Men have been banned from joining the military since the inception of the Matriarchy, due to the belief that they are unlikely to remain loyal to the Kerlian state when challenged. However, as part of the recent governmental reforms, restrictions on males have been loosened in several areas of life. Some of these reforms are intended to be permanent, while others are experimental – aiming to investigate whether or not a hundred years of Kerlile has been sufficient to re-educate male citizens and produce enough of a total cultural shift to overcome their patriarchal instincts.
The debate, set to begin at 2pm on Monday 8th June, will debate permitting a limited number of men to train and work in the military for a period of two years as part of the experimental protocols. The participants would all be volunteers, and would be strictly screened for loyalty to the Kerlian state prior to being allowed into the service. At the end of the two years, a further debate would take place to evaluate the success of the program and whether or not to make the change permanent. If it was made permanent, males would be capped at 10% of the total number of military personnel. Under the experimental program, men would make up only 1% of the total military.
The experiment is set to be controversial, with the Reform Party championing the initiative. The main opposition to the program is the religious Secadualist Union, supported by the Environment & Conservation Party, who are against any increase in military numbers. The largest party, the Women’s Party of Kerlile, is divided on the program, with some MPs supporting the measure at least as an experiment, while others are against it wholesale.
