E-Paper
‘Bad impact on force’: ITBP rejects official’s gender change plea
ITBP denies a gender change request, citing a directive that it could negatively impact personnel psychology and behavior, due to differing physical standards.
The Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has rejected a personnel’s plea for gender change, citing a directive by the Directorate General (Medical) of the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) that such a move will have a “bad impact on the psychology and behaviour pattern of force personnel”, people aware of the matter said on Wednesday.
The ITBP headquarters cited the directorate general medical’s opinion that the physical parameters are different for male and female personnel during their enrolment in the force that primarily guards the India-China border.
The order – dated February 25 – said that when such cases come up in the future, they should be dealt with similarly, citing the opinion of the directorate general (medical), the top medical office for all Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
The order came on a request by an ITBP official who sought to change their gender from female to male, following which the matter was forwarded to the Union home ministry.
HT has seen a copy of the order. ITBP is managed by the Union home ministry.
The ITBP order said that since the ministry did not have directions on gender change, it instructed the force to seek advice from the additional director general (medical) of the CAPF.
“General opinion is that gender change cannot be entertained/permitted in the force as it will have a bad impact on the psychology and behaviour pattern of force personnel. Further, the required physical parameters are different for male and female for enrolment in force. Therefore, after sex change these parameters will not be met. Hence it is not recommended,” the order said. This is the first such case in ITBP.
For eligibility as general duty (constables) in the paramilitary force under the general category, a male candidate must be at least 170 cm tall, while a woman must be at least 157 cm tall. The parameter is also different for physical tests. A male candidate must complete at least 5 km in 24 minutes, while for women, it is 1.6 km in 8.5 minutes.
The ITBP has a sanctioned strength of 98,858 personnel, of which 3,642 are women. The force’s responsibility spans 3,488 kilometers of the India-China frontier, maintaining over 180 border outposts (BOPs) at elevations ranging from 9,000 feet to 18,750 feet. These posts stretch across the western, middle, and eastern Himalayas, from the Karakoram Pass in Ladakh to Jachep La in Arunachal Pradesh. The force’s highest outpost, Dorjila in north Sikkim, stands at 18,750 feet.
