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Women BSF, IAF officers trek the desert to push girl child edu

The select women officers will cover 1,368 kilometres across three states — Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab —and reach the Wagah border on October 2.

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BSF, IAF women officers ahead of the expedition
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A group of 22 women officers from the BSF and IAF are on a 49-day joint camel expedition in the remote villages of Rajasthan along the India-Pakistan border to promote education and equality for girls.

The select women officers will cover 1,368 kilometres across three states — Gujarat, Rajasthan and Punjab —and reach the Wagah border on October 2.

The group includes Tanushree Pareek, the first woman combat officer of BSF, and squadron leader Anioushka Lomas of the IAF, among others.

The trek across the hot dusty desert areas, and that too on camel back, necessitated special training which they had toundergo at Jodhpur. The purpose of the expedition is to promote the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign. It is a heartening sight to watch the women officers weave their way through the ever-shifting desert sand dunes to reach out to the backward desert population and interact with them.

"I too am like you, from a small village in Bikaner. Today, I am an officer in the BSF. If I can do it, so can you," speaks a passionate Tanushree Pareek to the women and gets an imediate response.

The officers talk about the world beyond the villages, they tell the women to move beyond the confines of homes. They talk about their roles as pilots, fighters, combat officers and the opportunities that await women once they decide to avail them.

"The response to the expedition is amazing," says Amit Lodha, DIG, BSF at Jaisalmer. "Two girls who had left school after class 9 came tothe BSF camp and said they wanted to join school and become BSF officers," added Lodha.

The villages on the border are far flung, but the news about these officers has spread to the remote hamlets and peoplehave begun to line up to see them. The enthusiasm is so infectious that the wives of some BSF officers are escorting the women officers with motorcycle and jeep rallies.

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