Delhi high court order granting permanent commission to women in the air force could soon apply to the army and the navy.
The Delhi high court order granting permanent commission to women in the air force inadvertently gives the military leadership a chance to dump their biases against women playing a bigger role. But, the order does not mean that the military will send women to the battlefront — as fighter pilots or as frontline troops.
Friday’s order challenges the military’s belief that women cannot be given permanent commission and though it is for the air force, it could soon be applicable to the army and the navy, since appeals on these wings are pending.
A senior army general said the order means the military will have to rework its promotion policies. Right now, the highest rank a woman officer can reach is lieutenant colonel and she has to retire after 14 years. The exceptions are doctors and nurses.
With this order, the military will have to give women a chance to opt for permanent commission after five years of short service, or at the end of an extended short service. This could mean that in the next decade or so, the military could boast of a substantial number of women in the rank of colonel and above.
However, the military is still not going to allow women become fighter pilots, serve in naval ships or go to the frontline. The army is reluctant to allow women in the combat zone because of the fear that they might fall into the hands of the enemy. The air force doesn’t want to spend crores of rupees on making a woman fighter pilot who might opt out a few years later because of pregnancy. The navy is reluctant to have women on board because ships don’t have enough facilities.
Military leaders are also worried about creating logistics to accommodate women, issues of sexual harassment, etc, as well as the recent controversies involving women officers.
Some of these concerns may be legitimate, but most are deep-rooted biases built into chauvinistic military perceptions. It is important for the military leadership to remember that when someone asks for equality, they are willing to undergo the hardships that accompany such a privilege.
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