Victory in a long battle for equal opportunities

Victory in a long battle for equal opportunities

Context:

The granting of permanent commission for women in the Indian Army.
In a landmark judgment, the Supreme Court of India had ruled allowing women to serve as permanently commissioned (PC) officers in 10 combat support arms and services of the Indian Army and had also directed the Central Government to consider removing the embargo on command appointments for women officers.
The government issued formal sanction offering PC to women officers of the Indian Army.

Importance of this judgement:

1. Job security:

With the grant of PC, women officers will now not be forced to look for alternative careers after 14 years thus ensuring job security.

2. Employee benefits:

The grant of PC will accrue many other employee benefits such as pension and ex-servicemen status for the women army recruits.

3. Professional growth for women:

The grant of permanent commission to women will provide clarity on their career paths and also place women officers on an equal footing with men for promotions and professional growth.
Women officers could be considered for command roles.
They could enrol for ‘In service career courses’ and even opt for higher studies.

4. For the army:

The availability of experienced women officers in permanent cadre would help address the issue of shortage of officers in the Indian Army.
As per the available records, the shortage of officers in the Indian Army is estimated at 18% of the authorised strength.

5. For society:

The grant of permanent commission to women has helped address the issue of regressive patriarchal mindsets.
It breaks gender stereotyping and provides equal opportunities for women in the Army.

Way forward:

There is a need to sincerely implement the new reform. This would require a change in the current mindset and need gender sensitization among the stakeholders.
There is the possibility of challenges in implementing the new reforms but the solution to these should not be guided by gender stereotyping.
The physical and mental standards for the role must be uniform and gender-neutral.
The professional standards must be adhered to without any gender bias.
Currently, there is no provision for women to choose defence as a long-term career right at the outset as a PC officer.
Women should be provided with an opportunity to directly join the services as permanently commissioned officers as against the current mode of entry being only as short service commission cadre.