Women in Combat Role

In News

• Recently, Abhilasha Barak from Haryana became the Indian Army’s first woman combat aviator.

About

• The Supreme Court, in a landmark decision on February 17, 2020, ordered that women officers in the Army be given permanent commissions.
• It rejected the Centre’s claim, that their physiological limits were based on “sex stereotypes” and “gender discrimination against women.” 
• In 2021, the apex court had authorised women to take the National Defence Academy entrance exams (NDA).

Women in Combat Role

• Origin:
  • The role of women in the Indian Army began in 1888 when the ‘Indian Military Nursing Service’ was formed during the British Raj.
  • But it was only in 1992 that the organisation opened doors and started inducting women in non-medical roles. 
  • Initially, they were brought in for five years of service under “Special Entry Scheme”, which was then converted into Short Service Commission (SSC).
• Developments Over the Years:
  • In 2008, a permanent commission was extended to women in streams of Judge Advocate General (JAG) and Army Education Corps.
  • In 2015, India also opened new combat air force roles for women as fighter pilots. 
  • In June 2016, Flying Officers Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh were the first female pilots to be accepted into an Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter squadron. 
  • In 2018, flying officer Chaturvedi of the IAF scripted history by becoming the first Indian woman to fly a fighter aircraft solo. She flew a MiG-21 bison on her first solo flight. 
  • In 2019, the Indian Army announced the decision to induct women as soldiers in the Corps of Military Police. 
    • The first batch underwent training for a year in 2020 before being sent for active duty to field units of the military police in 2021. 
    • The role of the military police includes policing cantonments and army establishments. 
  • In 2020, the Indian Navy announced that it was deploying its first batch of women pilots on the Dornier maritime aircraft. 
  • In 2021, in a landmark move, the BJP government decided to grant permanent commission to women in all ten branches where they are inducted for Short Service Commission — Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Army Air Defence, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps and Intelligence.
  • In 2021, the government informed the top court that women could attend military colleges to become eligible for permanent commissions. 
  • In 2022, the Ministry of Defence decided to convert the experimental scheme for inducting women fighter pilots in the IAF into a permanent scheme. 
• Still a Not Part of Active Combat: However, despite all these developments, the women in the Indian armed forces that constitute 3% of the Indian army are still not allowed to be a part of the active combat.

Significance 

• Women officers will be given equal opportunity to contribute to the nation.
• The armed forces play an important role and need to promote gender equality in the forces. 
• Providing women with  a more challenging and fulfilling career. 
• It would change the “regressive mindset” for not allowing women in the armed forces. 
• It will challenge a strong stereotype which assumes that domestic obligations rest solely on women.

Challenges

• Military’s perception that it would lead to “operational, practical and cultural problems”. 
• Officers in combat branches have to fight together, there is no privacy. 
• It’s tough to maintain proper living conditions for women in combat situations, especially given social norms in India.
• The challenge for women officers to meet the hazards of service owing to their prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood and domestic responsibilities.
• The high standards of physical fitness are required for a long period.

Way Ahead

• The Armed Forces must take a proactive approach themselves in ensuring gender equality rather than waiting for courts to intervene.
• As women get ready to stride into the combat corps, they may need to combat attitudinal hurdles.

Source: IE