Larger role in army for women officers

Josy Joseph

They will get to command more units

NEW DELHI: The Indian Army will soon see women commanding platoons and companies in the signals, air defence, army supply corps and similar units. Until now, women were mostly restricted to duties in safe offices and other fringe posts. Command of infantry units will, however, remain out of bounds for them.

Starting April, women joining the Officers Training Academy in Chennai will under a 49-week training module like the men, though overall their course will be “softer”, according to army sources. So far women underwent 24 weeks training before being commissioned as officers.

The increased training will result in opening up several posts to women. And to top it all, they will get to attend key career development courses.

None of the three wings of the armed forces now offers a permanent commission to women, except in medical services. All women join the army under the short service commission and can serve a maximum of 14 years.

The Army has about 4,000 women officers, the Navy 252 and the Air Force over 750, medical services included. But the Army doesn’t allow them into combat zones, the Air Force doesn’t make them fighter pilots, and the Navy doesn’t post them on ships.  

As new women recruits from the April 2008 batch pass out of the OTA, the Army will open up the posts of platoon and company commanders in select units to them.

Given its historic reluctance to admit women into its ranks, for the Army to open up such important posts is being seen as a huge leap.

The Army has also increased the maximum number of women to be inducted from 50 to 75 from the new batch.

The Army moves comes even as defence minister AK Antony struggled to convince Parliament that there was no discrimination against women in the military, after it was admitted that up to 2006, the Air Force granted permanent commission to many men who had come through the short service commission. While no woman short service commission officers were granted permanent commission.

The military still remains a strong male bastion, but there are several reasons behind the historic discrimination, including concerns about the impact of deploying women in tough combat zones. But over the past few decades, the Army has been slowly accepting women outside the medical services. In 1992, it started the short service commission for women.