More and more women in Finland take survival courses amid Russian threat

In Finland, women have begun to join military training courses as the situation with Russia has deteriorated.

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The classes are run by the National Women's Emergency Preparedness Association at military bases. One of the programmes is called Nasta, partially funded by the Ministry of Defence. In addition to these courses, there are dozens of others run by the National Women's Emergency Preparedness Association to prepare women for emergencies in Finland.

For example, there is training in cybersecurity, mental resilience, wilderness survival, snowmobiling and countering information influence. After the invasion of Ukraine, the number of applications for courses increased. Finland not only has a history of war with its neighbour, but also shares an 830-mile-long land border.

At one of the courses visited by the journalists, there were women of all ages: from 18 to 70.

"I didn't think the threat of Russians attacking us was real. But they attacked Ukraine. Maybe we are next," said a 42-year-old participant.

"Our neighbour was not very friendly to us even before [until 2022]. So we are well aware of the risks. Many countries have opted out of the draft. Finland did not. For us, it's about common sense," says the Nasta representative.

Source: The Guardian