Tweaking of system needed to facilitate co-ed training

Photo for representational purpose only. File photo

IN a heartening reaffirmation of the hard-fought gender equality that is being increasingly felt in the defence forces, the portals of the academies for pre-commissioned training are set to open for women. It is another matter though that, as in every other small or big step taken towards parity and overcoming the misogynistic mindset despite proving themselves as worthy defence and combat officers in the past nearly three decades, this battle too has been won through the court. Defending yet again women’s equal right to recruitment in the army, the Supreme Court, in its interim order on Wednesday, cleared one of the last hurdles that still smacks of discrimination. It allowed women candidates to take the NDA and Naval Academy exams scheduled for September 5 this year, subject to the final decision.

Excluding women from taking the test is a grave violation of the broad intent of last year’s orders of the SC that allowed permanent commission to women officers. To prevent the irreparable damage that this miss would have caused to women’s rights, the SC direction to the UPSC to issue a corrigendum is timely. The new rule must be widely publicised so that all eligible and aspiring women candidates could compete for recruitment as cadet officers.

The SC directive should goad the policymakers to take heed and shed their resistance to gender equality. As the SC noted, it is indeed regretful that the Army has been more reluctant than the Air Force and the Navy to fully accommodate women officers in its ranks. It is prone to dithering till ordered to act by the courts. The forces would do well to accept that women officers are very much here to stay and soar to heights and that gender neutrality is non-negotiable. It is time for the forces to adapt themselves towards a compatible co-educational ethos and infrastructure for women in all their institutes of training, and tweak the system, keeping in mind the technical intricacies peculiar to their work culture.