Indian Army’s efforts to promote women officers in full swing

The Indian Army is conducting a women officers selection board from 9 January to  22 January to promote women officers from the rank of Lieutenant Colonel to Colonel.  The goal of this selection board is to bring women officers at par with their male counterparts and ensure gender parity in the Indian Army. A total of 244 women officers are being considered for promotion against 108 vacancies from the 1992 batch to the 2006 batch in various Arms & Services such as Engineers, Signals, Army Air Defence, Intelligence Corps, Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. To ensure fair conduct, a total of 60 affected women officers have been called as observers for the Selection Board. On the culmination of the selection board, the 108 women officers who are declared fit will be considered for posting on various command assignments. The first set of such postings will be issued by the end of January 2023. The Indian Army has granted Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers at par with their male counterparts to provide equal opportunities to women. With the grant of PC, women officers can aspire to achieve greater glory and shoulder higher ranks and responsibility. All women officers granted PC are undergoing special training courses and challenging military assignments to empower them for higher leadership roles in the Indian Army. In this background, for the first time, five Women Officers (WOs) have cleared the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) and Defence Services Technical Staff Course (DSTSC) Exam, which is held annually in September. The five WOs will undergo a oneyear course and give them adequate weightage while being considered for command appointments. Also, women officers as part of the Engineers, Army Air Defence and Signals are already making a mark in the forward areas of deployment. Women will soon be inducted into the Corps of Artillery. Recently, a women officer has been deployed to a post in the Saichen Glacier. The Indian Army is the first among the three Services to open its soldier ranks to women in the Corps of Military Police. Women soldiers forming part of the Corps of Military Police will continue to be inducted through the ‘Agnipath Scheme’ as well. In another initiative to promote “Nari Shakti”, six meritorious sportswomen have been recruited into the Corps of Military Police under Mission Olympic Programme. The Indian Army has also considerably stepped up the role of women soldiers in various UN Peacekeeping missions. In consonance with the United Nations’ Gender Parity drive, an Enhanced Female Engagement Team comprising of two Officers and 25 Women Soldiers were recently deployed to the strife-torn Abeyi region of Africa to provide relief and assistance to women and children in one of the most challenging operational and terrain conditions under the UN flag.