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Press Information Bureau
Government of India
Ministry of Defence
09-March-2010 17:43 IST
Seminar on integration of women in the Indian Army
An In-house brain storming session to examine the current status of integration of women in the Indian Army was conducted under the aegis of the Army Management Studies Board, Army Training Command, at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai on 05-06 Mar 2010. Further, issues to formulate a long term perspective on employment of women officers in the Army were discussed. Major General JS Bajwa, Commandant, OTA comments, “The proposed seminar would go a long way in generating a healthy debate and consequently a deeper understanding of socially intrinsic issue. This would help in formulating comprehensive integration of women in our Army, as also in working out a long term perspective to address future requirements.” The General is instrumental in restructuring the training of women cadets at par with their male counterparts in the only Army training institution in the country for women entry. He heads the Officers Training Academy at Chennai.

In these modern times, more and more women are venturing into seeking employment in diverse fields. They have, in fact, contributed positively in areas as varied as science, medicine, space, education and in providing leadership in the corporate world. The evolving new women are on a self-discovering journey, storming male citadels all over, including the armed forces. However, the issue of women in military has been debated vociferously. In the West in particular, increasing opportunities for women to serve in wider spectrum of roles in the army has been driven by the need to maintain essential manning levels at times of adverse demography, and by constitutional, and growing international pressure for gender equality and empowerment. In the Indian context, the women first donned the uniform in 1992 besides Army Medical Service and Military Nursing Service and are now here to stay. It is, therefore, axiomatic that they are likely to play a pivotal role in the evolutionary process of the Indian Army. Yet, the approach of the Indian Army has so far been very cautious. Nevertheless, issues related to their employment, integration and future profile have been repeatedly articulated and discussed in various forums. It is in this backdrop that the seminar on “Status of integration of women and their future profile in Indian Army” was conducted at the Officers Training Academy, Chennai.

The scope of the seminar was to encompass the whole spectrum from the selection process, Pre-induction training and its effectiveness, employment spectrum, military necessity, social and psychological aspects. The envisaged terminal objectives of the seminar was to identify the present status of integration in the Indian Army, examine future requirements for induction and integration, examine a suitable cadre management matrix and chalk out a way ahead to achieve effective integration.

PJ/RPA