In a first in the armed forces, the Army has decided to induct women as soldiers or jawans. To start with, 800 of them will be recruited for the Corps of Military Police. At present, women serve as officers in the Army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Navy. The recruitment of women jawans will begin in a phased manner with selection and training of 52 candidates every year.
The plan to induct women as jawans is seen as a major step towards breaking gender barriers. The decision was announced here on Friday during the Army Chiefs’ Conclave. Former chiefs attend this conclave where the incumbent chief briefs them about the current developments in the Service, officials said here.
The Indian Army has more than ten lakh troops but does not have women as jawans. It is the same with the IAF (60,000) and Navy (50,000). The three Services had opened the doors for women officers in 1992. At present, there are nearly 550 women officers in the Navy, 1,400 in the IAF and nearly the same number in the Army.
While the IAF last year selected at least three women officers for training as fighter pilots, the Army is yet to have women in its combat arms including the Infantry, Artillery and the Armoured Corps. Women officers are now serving in the Army Education Corps, Engineers, Ordnance, Judge Advocate General and Intelligence. Similarly, women officers do not serve on warships, submarines and don’t do combat flying.
The Corps of Military Police, responsible for maintaining order in Army establishments, controlling traffic and investigating minor offences is also a non-combat or support service unit of the Army. The Army top brass is now finalizing the terms and conditions of service for women and will shortly approach the Defence Ministry for approval, they said.
Officials also said given the increasing need for investigation against gender-specific allegations and crimes a necessity was felt to have women in the Military Police. Incidentally, the announcement came a day after Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took charge of the Ministry and became the first woman to hold this crucial Ministry full time.
The women recruits will undergo at least 42 weeks of training at the Corps of Military Police training centre, Bengaluru along with their male counterparts and will formally join the service as lance Naiks. It is the entry level rank given to a soldier. The recruitment is likely to start next year and many soldiers from the first batch of women jawans will be deployed in Kashmir for law and order duties, including frisking of women, sources said. At present, this task is carried out by policewomen.
Incidentally, Army Chief General Bipin Rawat some months ago said the Army will shortly open its doors for recruitment of women as jawans or soldiers. However, he was reluctant about inducting women in combat roles and cited various reasons like tough working conditions in remote areas.
Meanwhile, the other decisions announced during the conclave included cadre review for improving promotion avenues for Junior Commissioned Officers and other ranks.