Drafting women has long been debated as a way of ridding the military of gender bias, but as young men become flabbier, top brass now also think that a continued high level of physical fitness may require massive female input.

"It's a fact that many men of military-serving age are in worse shape today than was the case earlier, (so) in order to get the most qualified person for each job ... we have suggested that women as well as men should be enrolled for military inspection," Haakon Syren, the supreme commander of the Swedish armed forces, told AFP.

Military commanders stop short of pushing for universal draft, forcing all men and women to serve in the armed forces, considered one of the last bastions of male dominance and power in gender-equality-minded Sweden.

But Syren insists that encouraging women to join would give the military a better recruiting ground. "We want the broadest range of people to choose from as possible," he said.

The proposal is controversial at a time when a number of women have stepped forward, accusing the military of doing nothing to stop sexual harassment.

Over recent weeks, at least eight women claimed they were sexually harassed while serving with Swedish troops stationed in Kosovo.

According to Swedish media reports, female officers in the regiment had their orders met with remarks like "Ok, if I can touch your boobs first" or "Couldn't we just fuck instead?"

The Kosovo officers got little help from superiors, says Swedish Equal Opportunities Ombudsman Claes Borgstroem, who is representing one of them in a lawsuit against the military.

"It was well known that she was having trouble, and that there were pornographic pictures, and that a list of what sexual services women should perform" had been posted in the barracks, Borgstroem told AFP.

But instead of being backed up, "she was told that if she couldn't handle the situation she should go home. She was provoked into quitting," he said.

Women's minority status in the army makes them more vulnerable, Borgstroem said. "It's obvious that the more women are let in, the easier it will be to get rid of such attitudes."

In 2003, 46,312 men and 1,054 women enrolled for military inspection, according to the Swedish National Service Administration. In total, 17,000 Swedes served in the military, of whom 555 were women.

While some argue that increasing the percentage of woment would surely weaken the armed forces, National Service Administration (NSA) spokeswoman Ulrika Haeggroth points out that female recruits must meet the same physical requirement as their male colleagues.

"The criteria for being drafted is the same for the women as they are for the men," she told AFP.

Women sometimes make it into the military without passing every single test, but "she won't get in if she's lagging in several areas, or if she does really badly on an important test," she said.

In any case, inside today's high-tech military, physical strength is often no longer the main qualification needed. "Within certain areas, we may lower the (physical) requirements," Syren said.

Kristin Adamsson, who served in the military for 12 months in 2001 and 2002 as an information assistant for the airborne forces, said all women should be required to enroll for military inspection.

"Many girls I know would do really well in the military, but they may need a nudge to actually join," she told AFP.

Like every workplace, a diversity of backgrounds would benefit the army, Adamsson said.

"The work atmosphere is always better when you have men and women, Swedes and immigrants, straight people and gay people, all working together."

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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