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Women Can’t Be Army Commanders As Male Troops Won’t Accept Them, Govt Tells SC

byNikita Manot
5th February 2020
2 minute read

Indian women are shattering glass ceilings with their great achievements globally. From PV Sindhu to Anshula Kant to Bala Devi, our nation is filled with inspirational and fierce women.

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In fact, the Indian army has also started recruiting female jawans recently.However, this happiness seems to be shortlived. Recently, the Central government told the Supreme Court that women officers shouldn’t be appointed at commanding positions in the army as it will be tough for the male troops to accept them.

A report from Times of India stated them saying, “The composition of rank and file being male, and predominantly drawn from a rural background, with prevailing societal norms, the troops are not yet mentally schooled to accept women officers in command.” 

Yes, this happened. The officers cited reasons such as prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood, and family obligations as some of the reasons for their decision. They also argued that male and female officers cannot be treated at par because of their physical and physiological differences.

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“The officers are expected to lead their men from the front and need to be in prime physical condition to undertake combat tasks. Inherent physiological differences between men and women preclude equal physical performance resulting in lower physical standards and hence the physical capacity of women officers remains a challenge for command of units.”

As per their argument, it’s a difficult task for women officers to meet the hazards of services as armed forces require a commitment beyond the call of duty. They further added that they don’t want to expose women to combat situations due to the danger of them being taken as prisoners of war(PoW). According to them, such a stressful situation can only be avoided by limiting the number of women in direct combat units.

However, these regressive opinions were not well received by people and here’s what they had to say:

https://twitter.com/thirugns/status/1224924517220286465?s=20

However, the Supreme court reminded the Centre that they had raised concerns when women were included in the police force but they are performing well, reports Times Now. They told the Centre that women should be to be given a fair chance and opportunity to perform to the best of their abilities.

It’s 2020 and we just hope that the women officers get what they truly deserve. What are your thoughts about this? Let us know in the comments below.

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