Onus is on Women

It is by performing well that female officers can lead the armed forces to absolute gender equality

- Gul Panag

IT was never about male or female officers—it was a fight for equal rights and the Supreme Court has upheld the right to gender equality in the armed forces as enshrined in Articles 15 and 16 of the Constitution of India. In a benchmark judgment on February 17, the Supreme Court granted parity to women officers with male officers, with respect to consideration for permanent commission and opportunity for command of units based on the selection criteria. The parity granted is only partial, and was restricted to the plea of the litigants as related to terms and conditions of short service commission in the combat support arms, excluding artillery and combat support services. Women are still not at par with their male counterparts with respect to the following rights/ opportunities:

• Direct permanent commission into the armed forces through the National Defence Academy after 10+2 and respective service academies after graduation

• Joining fighting arms—infantry/ mechanised infantry and armoured corps—and one combat support arm (artillery) in the army

• Service on ships and submarines in the navy (Indian Navy has in principle accepted the proposal subject to women-specific facilities being created)

• Joining special forces

• Enrolment as soldiers, sailors and airmen, i.e. as personnel below officer rank (Indian Army has made a small beginning with enrolment of 100 soldiers in the Corps of Military Police in December 2019)