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The Supreme Court will also rule on permanent commission for women
New Delhi:
The Supreme Court will today rule on whether women officers in the Indian Army will be allowed “command appointments” on par with male officers. If this is allowed, women in the army will have similar career prospects and opportunities as their male counterparts, though it is still unclear if this would pave the way for women being allowed to fight in combat.
In a note from a report, the government had told the Supreme Court that “troops are not yet mentally schooled to accept women officers in command of units” since they are “predominantly drawn from a rural background”.
The petitioners have countered this by saying the arguments made by the centre on the physical capabilities of women, the composition of the rank and file and psychological realities “need to be rejected with the contempt that it deserves”.
The Supreme Court will also rule on whether women who have already served 14 years in the Short Service Commission in the army will be given the option of a permanent commission.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech in August 2018 had said announced women officers in India’s armed forces would now have the option to take up permanent commission through the Short Service Commission.
However, PM Modi at that time had not elaborated if the government had decided to open all the branches of the defence forces to permanently commission women officers.
As per the Short Service Commission, a woman officer can serve for 10-14 years. The women officers are allowed entry into Army Service Corps, Ordnance, Education Corps, Judge Advocate General, Engineers, Signals, Intelligence and Electrical and Mechanical Engineering branches.
But there is no option as of now to allow women in combat roles like infantry, armoured, mechanised infantry, aviation and artillery.
The Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy also grant permanent commission to women officers even as both have opened up some combat roles for women.
The air force allows women as officers in flying and ground duties. Women IAF Short Service Commission (SSC) officers fly helicopter, transport aircraft and now even fighter jets.
In the navy, women officers inducted through SSC are allowed in logistics, law, observers, air traffic control, maritime reconnaissance pilots and Naval Armament Inspectorate Cadre.
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