NEW DELHI: Amid the ongoing push for “gender-neutrality” in the overwhelming male-dominated environs of the armed forces, General Upendra Dwivedi on Monday said women officers were performing exceedingly well, disagreeing with the “perception” of a serving Lt General who strongly criticised them for not measuring up to the requisite standards as commanding officers (COs).
The Army chief said the number of women in the armed forces will keep increasing as “gender-neutrality” progressively gains ground in society as well as the military. At present, the over 11-lakh strong Army has 1,732 women officers (the number goes up to 8,000 if doctors, nurses and some others are included) and 310 military police jawans.
By 2025-end, the number of women officers will go up to 2,037. There are already 115 women COs, with 18 more ready to join them.
Found women officers mature & considerate, says Army chief
The Army is also looking at a “12 times increase” in induction of women in other ranks by 2032.
“As far as the Army is concerned, we want strong women officers… maybe ‘Kaali Mata Ka Roop’… It means it has to be a gender-neutral approach,” Gen Dwivedi said.
A couple of months ago, however, the then 17 Corps commander Lt Gen Rajeev Puri had strongly criticised women COs for “poor inter-personal relations”, “misplaced sense of entitlement” and “lack of empathy” for troops under their command, with an “exaggerated tendency to complain” to senior commanders, in a letter written to higher authorities, as was then reported by TOI.
On this, Gen Dwivedi said, “The letter shouldn’t have leaked. A court of inquiry has been ordered into it. It’s his perception (and) he has all the right to give out that perception and comment. It was an internal communication.”
The Army chief said it was important to consider the context in which women officers were made COs based on SC’s directions. With the entire process being accelerated, women officers were not trained and groomed for the challenging role of COs, unlike their male counterparts who do the ‘junior command’, staff college and other adjunct courses as well as the requisite appointments as young officers.
“There are 16 women officers currently doing staff college. There are women officers now in the regiment of artillery, pilots in Army aviation. When I was commanding Northern Command, I found women officers to be mature, considerate, and up and about,” the Army chief said.
Women officers have only from 2023 onwards begun to command units in air defence, signals, ordnance, engineers, intelligence, service corps and the like, though they are still not allowed in the main ‘fighting arms’ of infantry, armoured corps and mechanised infantry of the Army.
