A proposal to expand conscription discussed in neutral Switzerland was rejected by a wide margin in a referendum.

AP and AFP reported on the day that 84% of Swiss voters opposed, in a referendum that closed on the 30th (local time), a plan to extend the military service obligation, currently applied only to men, to women. The measure, called the ‘Civic Service Initiative’, would have required women, like men, to perform compulsory service in the army, civil defense, or other forms of national service.

Supporters of the Civic Service Initiative argued that the system would not only strengthen social cohesion but also “respond to what we need,” calling it “everyone taking responsibility to work for a stronger Switzerland capable of confronting crises.” They also argued it was the right direction for achieving gender equality.

In Switzerland, men of conscription age are obligated to serve in the military or participate in civil defense. Conscientious objectors can perform alternative service in hospitals or eldercare facilities. About 35,000 men take part in compulsory service each year.

The Swiss government has opposed the measure, saying the military and civil defense already have sufficient personnel and that recruiting more than needed would reduce the labor force and incur substantial costs. The government said that mandatory service for women could be seen as “a step toward gender equality,” but at the same time “would place an additional burden on many women who already shoulder a significant share of unpaid work such as child and family care and housework.”

The Swiss government added that “demanding civic duties of women when equality in the workplace and society has yet to be realized would not represent progress in terms of equality.”

The so-called ‘super-rich’ tax proposal was also defeated in the referendum. Final tallies showed that more than 78% of voters opposed it.

Proposed by the youth wing of the Swiss Social Party, the bill would have imposed a 50% inheritance tax on estates worth more than 50 million Swiss francs (about 91.4 billion KRW) to fund climate action. It was estimated to affect around 2,500 households, and the sponsors calculated that the tax could raise 6 billion Swiss francs a year (about 10 trillion KRW).