News: Army chief general MM Naravane, while reviewing the army parade at NDA hailed the SC decision as a major step towards gender equality in the army.
What is the status of women in the Indian Army?
The first batch of women officers was introduced in nonmedical roles via the Short Service Commission in 1992. Last year, the Supreme Court allowed women to compete for the seats and subsequent permanent commission in the Indian army in any corps they desire.
| Read here: SC allowing women to sit for NDA test is a welcome push for a substantive gender reset in the armed forces |
Women were inducted as permanent commissioned officers in the legal and education corps since 2008 and as permanent commissioned officers in eight more non-combative corps in 2020. But still, the count of women forces in the Indian army is significantly low i.e. 3% as compared to 6% in the US, 15% in France, and 10% in both Russia and the UK.
| Also read: Arms and the Women |
How entry of women can help Army?
As more men gravitate towards the corporate world, entry of women can address the shortage of officers, which stands at 7476 officers as reported by the Minister of State for Defence.
What are the Supreme directives on women’s position in Army?
Recently, SC ruled that women officers should get command positions on par with male officers. It dismissed the military earlier objections that hiring women would lead to operational, practical and cultural problems and said this move is discriminatory.
| Read here: Gender parity in the Indian Army |
Source: This post is based on the article “How women cadets benefit the army” published in the Indian Express on 15th January 2022.
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