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A recent decision of the Delhi High Court allowing women permanent commission in March has been clearly a good month for women, what with the Women’s Reservation Bill being passed by the Rajya Sabha, and a landmark ruling of the Delhi High Court breaking another glass ceiling by allowing them Permanent Commission in the armed forces.
Probably, the time has come for policymakers to take a realistic view of things without getting carried away by high-pitched voices on either side of the debate. For the forces, keeping women out of so many streams, especially the ones that involve back-end operations, is surely not a wise option. It is like prolonging a historic wrong and preventing the best brains from entering into the competition. Under the existing policy, women are allowed only as officers in the Short Service Commission (SSC) for a maximum period of 14 years. While all male SSC officers are eligible for Permanent Commission (PC), women have only recently been allowed, and that, too, only in a few branches. The High Court on March 12 directed that PC be offered within two months to SSC women officers of the Air Force and the Army on a par with their male SSC officers. "The services should implement the orders," says a retired woman officer, who was one of the petitioners. Hoping to be re-instated following the judgement, she does not want to be quoted in the media.
The High Court, in its order, made it clear that inequality was not acceptable. Let us take an example: Nearly 350 men officers are inducted into the Short Service Commission (SSC) each year. Out of them, nearly 240 opt for Permanent Commission, and almost all are taken in. In case of women, 150 officers are inducted, and as of today, none is offered a PC. The existing policy to give women SSC officers Permanent Commission in select streams in the forces is only for those who joined after March 2009. Apart from this, men can also be recruited directly on PC if they are selected, on the basis of a test, into various academies like the National Defence Academy, Pune, or the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun. For women such a selection policy or option does not even exist. They can only join the forces as SSC officers for a maximum period of 14 years. After that they have to leave the force, and that too, without pension, as a person becomes eligible for pension after 20 years of service. On the contrary, even jawans, who work under these women officers, get pension despite retiring after 17 years of service. Inducting women into streams like the combat arms, or the fighting arms, of the Army, the IAF and the Navy is a matter of serious debate. Social and cultural issues have to be kept in mind. What if a woman is captured by the enemy or by militants during combat? How will the media react, and how will society respond to such a situation, ask serving officers. Historically, the subjugation of women during a battle is one of the biggest spoils of war. Even the court agreed with this view, saying the cultural ethos of other countries cannot be replicated in India. The Integrated Defence Staff Headquarters in 2006 recommended the exclusion of women from close combat roles. A serving Major-General agrees and explains: "A young lieutenant or captain stays in far-off places with some 120-odd jawans. You have to be one of the boys, eating, sleeping and even sharing a drink with them. Can you visualise this happening in our social and cultural milieu?" Some issues are deeply embedded in the social fabric of rural India from where most of the soldiers hail. Equality for women is a ‘foreign’ word in the hinterland. How will an average infantryman react to women officers’ commands? In his village women could be well behind a veil. The answers to this lie in our society, not with the Army or the forces, said another officer.
Not that the forces have their hands clean. Often male officers do not have a positive attitude about accepting women in the forces. Till July 2006, the Indian Army released SSC women officers in the substantive rank of captain, irrespective of the length of their service. This rule was amended to give women officers routine promotions within a period of 14 years — routinely, an officer reaches the rank of Lt-Colonel after 13 years of service. The forces argue that male officers do not have a mental block against women. Daughters of service officers have done well in civil life and have had successful careers as doctors, engineers, pilots and movie actresses. In this case, equality cannot be allowed to affect the fighting potential of the armed forces, which have been constituted for the defence of the country. Also, it would not be appropriate to see the operations of the three forces through a common prism — one situation cannot fit into another. Navy sailing teams remain out at sea for weeks together. Infantry units of the Army patrol the borders for weeks; stay in bunkers and in hostile areas where temperatures can touch -50`B0C. In the IAF, there is no such duty. In the Army, support role like the Corps of Signals may need to go into close combat with the enemy. The recent example is that of Rohtak boy Capt Deepak Sharma, who was killed in a gun battle in Jammu & Kashmir on March 4. He was from the Corps of Signals. These jobs cannot be seen as back-end or table jobs, pointed out another senior officer. Similarly, a naval chopper pilot has to land on ship-decks. In case of an IAF chopper, that is not always the case. However, there have been striking cases like that of Gunjan Saxena from Lucknow, who became the first Indian woman to fly into combat zone in Kargil in 1999 for relief and supplies missions.
Status of women officers Army: The total strength of officers is 35,400, while that of women officers is 1,050. Permanent Commission (PC) is open only in two streams — the Judge Advocate General (JAG) branch and the Education corps. There are SSC women officers in: Signals, Engineers, Ordnance and Air Defence. Women not allowed at all: Infantry, Artillery and Armoured corps, all combat arms. IAF: Total officers 10,500. Women officers 827: Permanent Commission is open only in Administration, Legal, Accounts and Education corps. SSC women officers are chopper and transport pilots and are eligible for the Engineering corps, Logistics and Meteorological streams. Women officers are not allowed to be fighter pilots and join all combat arms units. Navy: Total number of officers is 8,100, women officers are 282. Permanent Commission is for law, education and naval constructors – the one who design ships. Not eligible for PC: Logistics and ATC. Women not allowed on warships and submarines or to become naval fighters and chopper pilots. Note: The
first batch of women SSC officers joined in 1992. Permanent Commission
will be open to only those who were recruited after March 2009 i.e the
first PC will be offered only in 2019. —
AB
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Analyst and Director for
the Centre of Land Warfare Studies, Brig Gurmeet Kanwal (retd), has a
different take. He is all for Permanent Commission to women in all
units of the forces, even combat arms. But, he asserts, it is
necessary to specify their jobs and define service and training
conditions clearly. Let the interested candidates come forward.
"At present women could be used to fill vacancies in peace
stations," he opines.
