Maiden March

It’s been over two decades since the first batch of women officers saluted their arrival in the Indian Armed Forces. From being “treated with kid gloves” to now plans of their permanent commission and roles in combat being debated,it’s been a long march for our ladies in OG,Whites and Blues.

“Right from the time of training to my subsequent postings including a tenure in Srinagar,I can’t recall a single incident that left me feeling awkward or out of place,” Chandigarh-based Capt (retd) Rupinder Kaur says first up. Commissioned in September 2000 as part of OTA’s 16th all-women’s batch,Kaur was an Ordnance officer who credits the Army for teaching some of her most valuable lessons. “I am geared for life,” she says but at the same time rues the fact that despite doing well at the Young Officer (YO) course,she could not opt for specialised courses. “That’s open only to Permanent Commissions and in a way justified since the Army can’t spend as much effort on an officer who would be moving out in less than a decade,” feels Kaur who served for six years before hanging up her boots in June 2006. For women to take the armed forces more seriously as a career,the tenure must be longer,she adds.

This short-service period does have the ladies a bit miffed. Instead of preferential treatment,they say they want to be treated at par. “We believe we are as good and even in that short span of say five or ten years,we give in our best. So it’s only natural to expect a longer run,” feels Maj (retd) Neelima Masta who served for a decade in the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s branch before motherhood grounded her career. “I opted out for I felt commitment was an issue in my new role…I didn’t want to make a compromise at either places,” admits Masta who considers her ten years as the most “challenging and exhilarating.” “Not otherwise would I have got such a start that I was handling cases as far as the Supreme Court level,” she adds on an upbeat note.

Quiz them on whether they would feel ‘comfortable’ in combat roles if the Forces were to give in to the demand and to this retired officers like Maj (retd) Shalini Upmanyue don’t take long to answer a loud and clear ‘Why Not?’. “We have come this far and moreover the problem,if at all,isn’t on our side. The girls are ready and they believe they can do it,” shoots the former officer who like most of her tribe wants organisational changes to be made as acclimatization will always take time. “I was part of the second batch and at that time the male officers didn’t really know how to deal with us…but everyone’s used to the two genders working together. It’s like any other career. If you work like a professional,people will deal with you likewise,” Maj Upmanyue makes her point.

But there have been instances,a handful though,where women officers have labelled harassment and discrimination charges against senior male officers. “In my experience it would be unfair to generalise. Many a time the fault is with women officers who are expecting to be pampered and don’t conduct themselves in a manner befitting an officer,” remarks a retired lady officer speaking on condition of anonymity. Having served in the Valley for two years,she’s seen course mates behave “inappropriately”. “I don’t think women in combat roles can succeed in India for it would need serious restructuring down to the troops level. There’s a reason why women can’t be in those roles…so why fight the system,” she says but goes on to add,“rigorous physical training with stringent standards that match male officer training isn’t going to be a problem but changing mindsets will be.” Surely,the debate on that is still on.