The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has issued the formal Government Sanction Letter for grant of Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Army.

Try this question for mains:

Q.“Concern for equality of sexes or political expediency should not influence defence policies.” Discuss on lines with the debate over the induction of women in the armed forces.

Also read: https://www.civilsdaily.com/burning-issue-women-in-armed-forces/

Why such an order?

• The order follows a Supreme Court verdict in February that directed the government that women Army officers be granted PC and command postings in all services other than combat.
• Following this, Army Chief had said it was an enabling one and gives a lot of clarity on how to move forward.
• He had stated that the same procedure for male SSC officers will be followed for women to give PC.

Women in Army: Background of the case

• The induction of women officers in the Army started in 1992.
• They were commissioned for a period of five years in certain chosen streams such as Army Education Corps, Corps of Signals, Intelligence Corps, and Corps of Engineers.
• Recruits under the Women Special Entry Scheme (WSES) had a shorter pre-commission training period than their male counterparts who were commissioned under the Short Service Commission (SSC) scheme.
• In 2006, the WSES scheme was replaced with the SSC scheme, which was extended to women officers. They were commissioned for a period of 10 years, extendable up to 14 years.
• Serving WSES officers were given the option to move to the new SSC scheme or to continue under the erstwhile WSES.
• They were to be, however, restricted to roles in streams specified earlier — which excluded combat arms such as infantry and armoured corps.

2 key arguments shot down

• The Supreme Court rejected arguments against a greater role for women officers, saying this violated equality under the law.
• They were being kept out of command posts on the reasoning that the largely rural rank and a file will have problems with women as commanding officers. The biological argument was also rejected as disturbing.
• While male SSC officers could opt for permanent commission at the end of 10 years of service, this option was not available to women officers.
• They were, thus, kept out of any command appointment, and could not qualify for a government pension, which starts only after 20 years of service as an officer.
• The first batch of women officers under the new scheme entered the Army in 2008.

Arguments by the Govt

• The Centre had mentioned several reasons behind the differential treatment of women officers.
• It had proposed that women officers with up to 14 years of service would be granted a permanent commission, while those above 14 years would be permitted to serve for up to 20 years and retire with pension without being considered for permanent commission.
• It also stated that those with more than 20 years of service would immediately be released with pension
• This order did not grant permanent commission to women with over 14 years of service, and hence discriminatory.
• Furthermore, the 2019 order granted permanent commission only for staff appointments and not command appointments.
• The centre justified this by stating that that the units in Army are composed entirely of male soldiers, who are mostly from rural backgrounds and thus, are not mentally prepared to accept women officers in the command of units.
• It also stated that the lower physical capacity of women officers would be a challenge for them to command units wherein officers are expected to lead the men from the front and need to be in prime physical condition to undertake combat tasks.
• The government also stated that the adverse conditions, including two unsettled borders and internal security situations in the northeast and Jammu and Kashmir, have a major bearing on the employment of women officers in light of their physiological limitations.
• Also, it had stated that the isolation and hardships would eat into their resolve and that they have to heed to the call of pregnancy, childbirth and family.
• The government also argued that women ran the risk of capture by the enemy and being taken as prisoners of war.

SC Criticized the Government’s Note

• Reflects Poorly on Women: The note had shown women officers in a poor light, saying isolation and hardships would eat into their resolve and that they would have to heed to the call of pregnancy, childbirth and family. The note had mentioned that women ran the risk of capture by enemy and taken prisoner of war.
• Patriarchal Notion: The court held that the the note reflected the age-old patriarchal notion that domestic obligations rested only with women.
• Sex Stereotype: The court also dismissed the point that women are physiologically weaker than men as a “sex stereotype”.
• Offence to dignity of Indian Army: The court noted that challenging abilities of women on the ground of gender is an offence not only to their dignity as women but to the dignity of the members of the Indian Army – men and women – who serve as equal citizens in a common mission.

Implications of the judgement

• The SC did away with all discrimination on the basis of years of service for grant of PC in 10 streams of combat support arms and services, bringing them on a par with male officers.
• It has also removed the restriction of women officers only being allowed to serve in staff appointments, which is the most significant and far-reaching aspect of the judgment.
• It means that women officers will be eligible to the tenant all the command appointments, at par with male officers, which would open avenues for further promotions to higher ranks for them.
• It also means that in junior ranks and career courses, women officers would be attending the same training courses and tenanting critical appointments, which are necessary for higher promotions.

Back2Basics: Permanent Commission (PC) Vs. Short Service Commission (SSC)

• SSC means an officer’s career will be of a limited period in the Indian Armed Forces whereas a PC means they shall continue to serve in the Indian Armed Forces, till they retire.
• The officers inducted through the SSC usually serve for a period of 14 years. At the end of 10 years, the officers have three options.
• A PC entitles an officer to serve in the Navy till he/she retires unlike SSC, which is currently for 10 years and can be extended by four more years, or a total of 14 years.
• They can either select for a PC or opt-out or have the option of a 4-years extension. They can resign at any time during this period of 4 years extension.

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