Women at the forefront

Govt's decision to bring terms and conditions of service for women officers in Army with those of men was long overdue and is praiseworthy.

The government’s decision to bring the terms and conditions of service for women officers in the army with those of men was long overdue and is praiseworthy. Now, instead of a special and discriminatory entry scheme, women will be able to opt for the Short Service Commission route that allows for contractual service for 5-10-14 years. The decision to raise the training period of women to 49 weeks from the 24-week time-frame is another step in the right direction. This will ensure that women officers do not feel inferior to their male counterparts in any way and, therefore, no resentment is created on the matter of promotions. The step is also welcome because the level-playing field will boost the self-esteem of women officers and protect them against sexual harassment.

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Induction of women into the armed forces may have begun as a ‘me-too’ exercise in tokenism, but the armed forces have since learnt that the quality of women personnel they have been able to attract has been first-rate, which is more than what they could have said about their male counterparts. The shortage of quality officers in the armed forces is a well known phenomenon and the induction of women, many with high professional qualifications and abilities, has gone a long way in easing that shortage.

The revolution in military affairs has transformed war from an eyeball-to-eyeball contest, to one that is carried out at long range with precision guided munitions. This does not require muscle power. Women air-traffic controllers, targeting specialists, UAV pilots, logisticians, signals intelligence specialists and radar operators can play a role in modern combat. So while the present step is welcome, the armed forces must seriously consider the full-fledged induction of women officers through a regular commission.