With the objective to give more representation to women, the Indian Navy, in a major step, has deployed four women officers on board its warships for the first time after many years. So far, officers were serving only on shore-based assignments.
The demand for deploying women officers on warships was pending for the past many years. However, the Navy was reluctant to do so due to various practical issues including separate washrooms and living quarters on the ships.
So far, women officers in the Navy were deployed in land-based assignments. Some of them were also flying helicopters. However, a stint on the warship came about recently. They were deployed on ships about 23 years back and then it was discontinued due to logistical and related issues.
Giving details of the path-breaking step on the International Women’s Day, Navy officials said here on Monday four women officers were recently posted on warships. Two of them were now serving on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya while two others are deployed on the tanker ship INS Shakti.
It was for the first time since 1998 that women officers will be posted on warships. Back then, women officers started getting deployed onboard warships but the decision was changed soon after due to certain logistical and other issues.
In the latest development, women officers deployed onboard the tanker vessel INS Shakti include a doctor and logistics officer. The two women officers posted onboard India’s lone aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya include air traffic controller and a logistics officer.
A present, the Navy has 704 women officers who form 6.5% of the overall officer cadre. To mark Women’s Day, the Navy on Monday released a video shot aboard INS Shakti with messages from the two women officers posted on the tanker.
“They say women can’t have it all. But I would say dare to be different. The Indian Navy gave me the opportunity to be different and to dare,” said one of two women officers.
Over the years, the Navy inducted women officers in different assignments. Last September, two women officers were selected for the helicopter stream. They were first women in the navy’s history to operate from flight decks of warships and stay on board the vessels.
The two women officers, Sub-Lieutenants Kumudini Tyagi and Riti Singh, were among the 17 officers who were awarded wings on graduating as observers at a ceremony held in Kochi.
As observers, the two women have been trained for a variety of roles including navigation, flying procedures, tactics employed in air warfare, anti-submarine warfare and airborne avionic systems. They are likely to be posted on warships by the year-end, officials said.
These women officers will be posted onboard maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare helicopters of the navy.
In order to overcome the issue of separate washrooms and living quarters on board, the Navy some years back started building separate cabins and toilets for women officers on its warships.
The force also recently deployed a lady officer as the first women defence attache posted abroad. The lady officer is Lieutenant Commander Karabi Gogoi who is posted at Moscow as naval attache.
The IAF had opened the coveted fighter flying stream for women in 2015 by selecting four officers to fly MIG-21s. The Army is yet to induct women officers in combat arms including the infantry, artillery and armoured corps. As of now, there are nearly 9,120 women currently serving the army, navy and air force.