Background | This country is replete with tales of brave women fighters Jhansi ki Rani, Rani Ahilya, Durgawati, Captian Durga of INA just to name a few. Over the years, they have inspired thousands of women to take up arms and fight valiantly. However, the male bastion of armed forces was only breached in 1992, when women were permitted to join the Army, Navy and Air Force(other than medical services) as Short Service Commission Officers for the first time. A demand was ongoing by women officers for grant of Permanent Commission, which was given by Indian Army in Feb
2020 after the ruling of Supreme Court. Since then there was a demand to permit girls in the most prestigious institute – THE NATIONAL DEFENCE ACADEMY, which is not only rated as one of the best in the world, but also has one of the most stringent selection procedures. The Supreme
Court ruled in Aug 21 that girls should be permitted to appear in NDA entrance exam….the last male bastion finally fell!
Out of a total of 5.3 lakh candidates, nearly 1.77 lakh girl candidates appeared for the exam held in Nov 21. A total of 19 seats were allotted for girls(10 in the army, six in the air force and three in the Navy) out a total of 350 seats(260 for the Army, 60 for Air Force and 30 for Navy).
What do we expect from NDA Cadets and the Officers of the Armed Forces?
NDA cadets undergo a three year rigorous training in basics military disciplines building their stamina, physical and mental robustness, training them in basic military subjects of map reading, drill, horse riding etc. The last six months are dedicated to training in their respective arms viz
Army, Navy and Air Force. Thereafter, the respective cadets move to Indian Military Academy for army training, Naval Academy for Naval training and Air Force Academy for Air Force training. At the end of this grueling 4 years, we get well disciplined, mentally oriented, dedicated and polished Permanent Commissioned officers for the armed forces. The combined training at NDA gives them a camaraderie for integrated operations in future. After spending a whopping amount on training, these officers are expected to serve a mandatory of 20 years(minimum), before they can opt for a pre mature retirement. The Officers of the Armed Forces are expected to be selfless in service and lead their contingent in any circumstances, at any time, in any kind of terrain, without reservations of any kind, irrespective of their personal problems and safety.
The Challenges
First and foremost, priority needs to be cleared – WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, GENDER EQUALITY OR SAFETY, SECURITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE COUNTRY?? It needs to remembered that war is not about promoting gender equality or giving more opportunities to girls. War is nasty with an objective of complete annihilation and destruction of the enemy – physically, mentally and morally with lowest possible loss of life of own soldiers. It also needs to be kept in mind that a crippled soldier/ officer is a liability during the fighting as well as life long for his/ her family.
Some will argue that war is not 24x7x365. They need to be reminded the prevalent terrorism environment and the pressure on Indian borders is live since last so many years, in addition to every other day requirement to call the armed forces in a law and order/ during a natural calamity . Hence, the job comes with lots of hardships in terms of long duty hours, disturbed family life, frequent transfers, frequent and long separations from the family, hard training which most of the times adversely impacts the physical and mental robustness of officers more, as they have to carry the additional burden of looking after their soldiers. Long term impact on a woman’s body needs to be studied and brought out but it is surely going to be adverse. Woman officers already in service can contest this but they need to introspect and consider whether they have been subjected to the same level of hardships as male officers. So far, they have been treated with a softer hand which is neither desirable nor possible in case women are to be inducted to rise to higher ranks in combat arms.
In view of the above, the following points need to be considered at all levels- by the policy makers, the girls who want to join for a career, the parents, family and the supporters of equality…
Quoting that women teams are doing well in sports including weight lifting and boxing etc has no comparison to armed forces for a simple reason that teams, players and athletes are in small numbers, but armed forces is a large organization entailing a lifetime of hardships. Secondly, forces and war is not an event that will last 3-4 hours, it is 24×7, continuous, life time, with no retirement at 34-35. Lastly, the war is gender neutral and it is not women fighting with women. War is a ruthless, physically demanding, prolonged and fought with sweat and blood.
Training the Cadets– Presently, the standards of physical tests are different for men and women. This is damaging in the view that wars are gender neutral. In this context, a study by Manhattan Institute states that “Female Marines were injured at more than six times the rate of men during preliminary training” (https://www.manhattaninstitute.org/html/women-combat-units). Do we want a force/ team with weaker links. A chain is as strong as the weakest link. In this regard, it is also pertinent to be highlighted that a study carried out in the Officers’ Training Academy(OTA, Chennai) in 2010 revealed that a large number of stress fractures of hips among women cadets was attributed to difference in bone structure of women. It is also to be highlighted that during camps at OTA, the number of women cadets in hospitals shoot up to 25-30!!!
Cost of Training a NDA Cadet – What should also be known is that cost of training of a cadet at NDA is approx. Rs 30,000/ per month. In case a cadet wants to resign, he/ she has to repay this cost to the govt. In addition, an Officer opting for pre mature retirement at 20 years’ service, is a huge loss not only to the exchequer, but also to the organization…a total waste of 20 years of combat experience!!
The Social Setup – It is different ballgame when women officers do a short tenure and switch to a civilian life with a job, marriage and kids. However, when a women Officer has to necessarily serve for a period of minimum 20 years, a thought needs to be given to the following issues of the social set up
- Marriage – Who is a suitable match? – a boy working in corporate/ civil job / business may not suit as both will never be located at same place. For marrying another Officer from defence forces, the seniority will invariably carried at home and in personal life(examples of this already exist). In addition, for issues of good command and control, they cannot be posted in the same unit.
- Children – As there is no provision of creche in forces(neither it is feasible), who looks after the children? Do the couple rely on their parents to do the same? What happens during exercises, long outdoor training, kids falling sick, field postings and operations???
- Posting to Field and High Altitude Areas – An Officer will invariably be posted to field areas and High Altitude areas which are non family stations. A civil boy will hardly understand the separation time and again. But even if the couple both are serving Officers, it cannot be ensured that both will be posted to same field station together. Will the marriage be happy? In case of male Officers, the lady stays at a place with the kids, and after the field tenure, the family joins the Officer.
In case of male officers, the lady wife stands rock solid and looks after the kids, whether during field postings or long training exercises. But in case both are serving, both may get field tenures one after another, and it cannot be challenged as it is operational requirement.
Training As An Officer – As part of the unit undergoing field training, an Officer not only has to stay away from family for a period of 2-3 months or even longer, but is required to live, eat, sleep with his team 24×7. Basic infrastructure of toilets and living is under tentage or in open(if situation demands). It is for the women Officers to decide how to handle this…
War Situations – War is a nasty event with no mercy and the ultimate aim of total destruction of the enemy forces. In a situation like Wing Commander Abhinandan, was, a woman Officer in any force can also be in a similar situation….and may not be as lucky as Wg Cdr Abhinandan. Are the women Officers, families ready to face such situations. Expecting mercy and ethics from our adversaries on both sides is a tall order.
Welfare Activities – In Armed Forces, welfare of families is an integral part of the duties of an officer and the lady wife plays an important role in the same, forming a vital link between the Officers and families of jawans. In case of Women Officers, the Officer herself will have to perform this role, and it is to be pondered how to strike balance between time for official duties and welfare as well as dedicated time, effort and a vision is required for the same. There are only 24 hours in a day!
Disciplinary Issues – When young men and women in stressful situations are in close proximity(even if not in combat situations) bondings, affairs, break ups and triangular problems cannot be avoided. This is likely to loosen up the discipline in the forces. In this connection it is pertinent to go through study reports in US and European forces.
Command and Control – Women Officers have proved to be better in chair bound/ comparatively static administrative issues in comparison to field jobs. However, if they are not assigned field and combat oriented postings two important aspects will emerge in long run - The male officers will get more field postings and lesser family station postings in comparison to women officers leading to discontentment amongst them and their families, who will clearly blame the presence of Women officers for it. This will create an unhealthy trend in Officer cadre camaraderie.
- As a woman Officer grows in service and aspire for command tenures, will she be able to command respect of subordinates if she has not undergone the same hardships? Will she be order men under her command with conviction for the daunting tasks and ultimate sacrifices? Will she be able to lead with respect and moral courage?
Conclusion
The motto which Armed Forces follow is “ The Safety, Honour and Welfare of Your Country Comes First and Foremost, Always and Every time. The Safety, Honour and Welfare of Troops you command comes next. Your Own Safety, Honour and Welfare comes Last, Always and Every time.” The supporters of inducting women in Armed Forces should also know the following
- In high courts, the percentage of women judges is a mere 11.5%, while in the Supreme Court there are only four sitting women judges out of 33.
The number of women entering the Indian Administrative Service or IAS through the UPSC’s Civil Services Examination is at an average of around 30 per cent since 2014. However, it turns out that the percentage of women given the all-important posts of district magistrates or DMs is no more than 19 per cent across India. - While 12% of the police force were women, their share in the higher ranks (gazetted officers) is even lower at 8.72%. Lastly, it needs to be understood that it is not about women equality, it is the safety, security and integrity of the country which is at stake. It should also be clear that Armed Forces is not a career like the corporate or a 9 to 5 job, it demands life and blood.
“ DO YOU STILL HAVE IT IN YOU?”….
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