The first couple of days of October month has seen some interesting developments that affirm bigger role for women in the armed forces.
Surgeon Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, on October 1, became the first woman officer to take over as the Director General, Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS). The DGAFMS is directly responsible to the Ministry of Defence for overall medical policy matters which relate to the Armed Forces.
On October 2, two Indian Navy women officers, Lt Cdr Lt Cdr Roopa A and Lt Cdr Dilna K sailed off for an extremely challenging circumnavigation of the globe. The expedition is named Navika Sagar Parikrama-II. In 2017, six Indian Navy women officers became the first all-female crew to circumnavigate the globe. The second edition of this expedition will be the first time an Indian crew will accomplish this feat in double-handed mode.
Although women officers have been in the Armed Forces Medical Services for long, but they began to serve in non-medical branches of the Indian armed forces in 1992 under Women Special Entry Scheme (WSES). This scheme opened non-combat streams to commissioned women officers, including the Army Postal Service, the Judge Advocate General's department, the Army Education Corps, and the Army Service Corps.
The Indian Navy commissioned its first 22 female officers in non-medical streams, including Education, Logistics, and Naval Law.
Here are some other milestones for women in the Indian armed forces: In 2007, the United Nations deployed India’s first all-female peacekeeping force to Liberia. In 2014, India’s army had 3% women, the Navy had 2.8%, and the Air Force had 8.5% women among their officers. Then in 2015, India opened new combat air force roles for women as fighter pilots. In 2021, National Defence Academy entrance exam was opened up to female cadets.
The participation of women in India’s armed forces is progressively broadening, with an increasing number assuming leadership roles within military units. While achieving gender equality in the armed forces remains a journey of considerable length, the efforts to attain this goal have commenced positively.
Some notable women who have made history in the Indian armed forces include Gertrude Alice Ram, who was the first female Major General of the Indian Army, Mitali Madhumita was the first woman officer in the Indian Army to receive a gallantry award (Sena Medal) for actions in a counter-insurgency operation. Punita Arora was the first woman to hold the rank of Lieutenant General in the Indian armed forces, and the first woman Vice Admiral in the Indian Navy. Padmavathy Bandopadhyay was the first woman Air Marshal in the Indian Air Force.
Last year, Commander Prerna Deosthalee became the first woman officer of the Indian Navy to command the Indian Naval Warship. Meanwhile, Group Captain Shaliza Dhami became the first woman Air Force officer to take charge of a frontline combat unit.
Wing Commander Deepika Misra became the first woman officer in the Indian Air Force to be presented with a gallantry award. She had helped in saving 47 lives during floods in Madhya Pradesh in 2021.
Captain Shiva Chouhan became the first woman officer to get operationally deployed at Siachen glacier, the world’s highest battlefield. Colonel Shuchita Shekhar became the first women officer of the Army Service Corps to assume command of a Communication Zone Mechanical Transport Battalion responsible for the maintenance of the Supply Chain of the fully operational Northern Command.
Colonel Geeta Rana of the Corps of Electronics and Mechanical Engineers became the first woman officer to take over command of an Independent Field Workshop in a forward and remote location in Eastern Ladakh, said Indian Army officials.
While these have been the positives, there have been some blips as well. It was only due to the Supreme Court in 2020, women got the right to Permanent Commission in all 10 branches of the Army. This should have been done by the Ministry of Defence automatically, in appreciation of the yeoman job women officers have done in the forces.
Recently, a case was registered against a Wing Commander of the Indian Air Force by Jammu and Kashmir police following allegations of sexual assault by a junior woman officer at a New Year party on the night of December 31, 2023. Both are posted at Air Force Station, Srinagar. This shows that there are holes to be plugged. Such cases should not be allowed to happen in the future, otherwise all the hard work done till now will come to a naught.