In Finland, women are enrolling in the Nasta training course, which prepares for emergency situations.
Here, representatives of the “weaker sex” learn skills in wilderness survival, snowmobile driving, psychological resilience, first aid and cybersecurity.
Russian military threat — how they react in Finland
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, the number of applications from Finnish women to Nasta has increased rapidly.
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— I would never have thought that Russia could attack us. But after it happened with neighboring Ukraine, and we also have a common border with the Russian Federation, I thought: this is reality and we are next, — said 42-year-old Sari.
67-year-old Hannele is more afraid of the hybrid war that Finland is already experiencing than she is worried about the prospect of a real armed invasion. She also signed up for the course and was surprised to find so many women aged 18 to 70 gathered for the purpose of training.
Over the weekend, the group will learn crisis survival skills, including how to make and put out fires, cook outdoors, provide first aid, stay warm, and build a toilet.
Nasta has been running since 1997. Although its training is not military, it is partly funded by the Finnish Ministry of Defence and receives significant support from the National Defence Training Association of Finland.
It now has 100,000 members.
