Introduction
The issue of allowing women to assume the appointment of commanding officers’ raked-up a controversy when Centre opposed the same in the Supreme Court recently.
Senior advocate R. Balasubramanian and lawyer Neela Gokhale who represented the Centre, highlighted that inducting women to command posts would change the dynamics of the armed forces and that the composition of rank and file being male, and predominantly drawn from rural background, with prevailing societal norms, the troops are not yet mentally schooled to accept women officers in command.
However, lawyers Meenakshi Lekhi and Aishwarya Bhatti, who were representing the women officers, countered the argument by saying that many women had displayed exemplary bravery in the face of adverse situations. They cited the examples of Minty Agarwal, YSM (Yudh Seva Medal), who, as flight controller, had guided Wing Commander Abhinandan when he shot down a Pakistani F-16, as also, Mitali Madhumita who was awarded the Sena Medal for her bravery when terrorists attacked the Indian embassy in Kabul.
Besides the above, inducting women into combat role in the armed forces is also being widely discussed and debated. In the succeeding paragraphs let us delve deeper into the matter and understand what could be plausible in the context of India Armed Forces.
Occupational Hazards of the Services for Women Officers
- Extremely Harsh Service Conditions There are many field postings which are located in extremely hostile locations, which are winter stocked and cutoff from the world for months at end. Manning of such posts by a single lady officer with all male troops may be difficult to say the least. In fact, this is an important factor which is kept in mind while posting out female officers to field areas.
- Physiological Differences between Men and Women An officer in the armed forces is expected to lead his/her troops from the front. The natural differences in the physical capacity of a woman in comparison to a man can become a serious challenge for women officers while performing operational tasks in the combat zone.
- Motherhood and Domestic Compulsions Invariably for the women officers it becomes exceedingly difficult to meet the inescapable hazards of service conditions owing to prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood and while following traditional domestic obligations towards their children and families, especially when both husband and wife happen to be service officers. Moreover, frequent transfers, family separations owing to administrative, training and logistic commitments can adversely affect the stability of the family and education of children.
- Acceptance of Women in Command by Male Troops This is a debatable point and it may not be so difficult for educated troops to accept women officers in command appointments. However, it may still be called an exception rather than a rule, for the simple reason that the troops, who hail from remote and rural backgrounds, still harbor traditional value that defines women as the weaker sex.
- Miscellaneous Besides the above there could be many other hazards for women officers, like the horror of being caught as a prisoner of war, especially in the context of our adversaries. Additional requirements of toilets and privacy during training exercises and prolonged outing in the field require some special arrangements for women officers. Working in cramped spaces, like inside of tracked combat vehicles and crew-living during operations for days at end can become cumbersome for a lady officer with an entirely male crew. There can be innumerable contingencies that may be called as serious occupational hazards for women officers in a male dominated force.
Circumventing the above Challenges
Appointing women as commanding officers and considering them for combat role need not be ruled out completely. A via media can be found to circumvent the aforesaid challenges in the short and medium term, before we transit into a more technology driven, forward looking defence force.
The following points may be considered in this regard:
- Identify and create appointments for command in services which are static in nature, like base workshops, ordinance depots, static communication centre’s, research and development organizations, electronic aided planning and war-gaming setups, logistic bases in the hinter-land, etc.
- Allowing women officers to join such combat roles which does not require excessive physical capability and measured involvement with troops like the aviation corps, Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) and precision guidance related tasks, etc.
- Creation of appointments in the higher headquarters that require experts, like, Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Strategic Forces Command, the headquarters of newly announced Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), etc.
- Increasing the strength of women officers in the services where they are already allowed to serve, like ASC, AOC, EME, Signals, etc. In these services, where they have already established themselves, it may be about time that they are considered for command of these units, strictly on merit basis and at par with male officers.
- The induction of women in Territorial Army has been now allowed and those who are competent and meet the professional requirements should rise in rank to command these units.
Conclusion
Our society is fast transitioning and becoming more gender neutral. The government must play an active role in facilitating the acceptability of women at par with the men in the forces.
As a first step willing women officers should be granted permanent commission based on their professional capability, without giving them any gender based concessions.
I personally feel that those women officers who can compete with men on their own merit must be considered for permanent commission and for further promotions to hold command appointments.
Lastly, the forces, especially the combat arms demand mental robustness under pressure and acute physical tenacity and those women officers who volunteer to prove themselves should not be denied this opportunity, just because they are women.