News
army

The Swiss army is finally going to stop making service women wear men’s underwear

<p>Until now, women have been forced to wear often ill-fitting men’s underwear</p>

Until now, women have been forced to wear often ill-fitting men’s underwear

AFP via Getty Images

We all know that members of the armed forces require specialist equipment and uniform, but one nation has denied its service women the most basic provision… until now.

The Swiss army has finally agreed to let its female members wear women’s underwear for the first time.

Until now, they have reportedly been issued loose-fitting men’s pants – often in larger sizes – since standard uniform currently only includes male underwear.

The trial, beginning next month, will provide two different sets of female underwear for warmer and colder months, according to local reports.

The move is a bid to boost recruitment since, at the moment, women only make up around one per cent of Switzerland’s armed forces.

Read more:

The country hopes to increase that figure to 10 per cent by 2030.

Swiss National Council member Marianne told the BBC that offering women more suitable gear would encourage more to apply to join the military.

"The clothing is designed for men, but if the army is really to become more feminine, appropriate measures are needed," she said.

Army spokesman Kaj-Gunnar Sievert told Swiss news website Watson that the new "functional underwear" for female recruits would consist of "short underwear" for the summer and "long underwear" for the winter.

Swiss Defence Minister Viola Amherd has welcomed the move, saying that "compatibility" needed to be improved, according to the BBC.

Here’s how Twitter has responded to the news:

The current Swiss army uniforms were first introduced in the mid-1980s and I think we can all agree: it’s time for a revamp.

More: Take action: 10 ways you can help end violence against women, even during a pandemic

swissswitzerlanduniformarmy
The Conversation (0)
x