No tilak, vibhuti or other religious marks. Concession is made, however, for a vermillion daub on the parting of the hair.
NEW DELHI: No diamonds, bangles, chains, nose rings, ear studs, make-up, or junk jewellery. No tilak, vibhuti or other religious marks. Concession is made, however, for a vermillion daub on the parting of the hair.
The proscriptions are not a part of the regulations of a particularly Spartan monastic order. They are the guidelines that the Indian Army wants its women officers to follow.
The ban on women officers wearing icons that signal spiritual affiliation or fashion preferences has been detailed for the first time in the Army’s quasi-official good-manners manual.
The manual, ‘Customs and Etiquette in the Services’, originally written by Colonel HR Roach, was revised after a long time and released recently. The author of the latest edition is Major-General RK Arora, the chief of an Army division.
The manual has been the Bible of correctness for generations of officers, instructing them about the elaborate rules that make the Indian Army the disciplined and highly custom-driven force that it is.
The manual’s newly introduced chapter on ‘Lady Officers’ issues a chatty caveat: “Female Army officers who believe that diamonds are a girl’s best friend are going to be sorely disappointed,”
The chapter goes on to describe the allowances made for India’s women warriors: “[While in uniform], the only concession that the Army makes is that it does allow you to wear a thin chain or mangal sutra.” But the rider warns that no portion of that chain should be visible outside the uniform. One signet ring on the left hand is stated to be acceptable.
Although the men in uniform are not allowed to wear any religious symbols, steel kadas are acceptable for women. And what is not acceptable is clearly delineated: “…ornaments like glass bangles, nose rings and ear studs, ladies have to go back into your jewellery box, because they cannot be worn by you while you are in uniform.”
The revision of the old manual “was much needed” because of the changes that have swept across the ranks, a senior Army officer said. And changes do jot relate only to the gender-composition of the force. Indeed, the chapter on women officers is not the only addition to the manual. A section elaborating on the ‘Etiquette on golf courses’ has joined the ranks of regulations.
The manual, however, goes well beyond offering surface-level rules. It dwells on issues that are sensitive for women in any profession: “During pregnancy and painful menstruation, [women] can be asked to perform duties that are not physically demanding or harsh on them.”
Crucially, the manual also details the signs of sexual harassment, such as physical contact and advances, sexually coloured remarks, the demand for sexual favours, and any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct.
But some minutiae in the manual are amusing. For example, single officers who call on married colleagues are required to leave two visiting cards – one for the husband and the other for the hostess.
But it is a violation of Army etiquette for a married woman to leave her card for a gentleman. If she is accompanied by her husband on a visit, then he is required to leave two cards behind; the wife may leave one for the lady of the house.
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