NEW DELHI: The Army has finalised its long-pending proposal to induct women as soldiers or jawans and 800 of them will be recruited for the Corps of military police.
The development comes a day after Nirmala Sitharam took over as the country’s first full-time woman defence minister. At present, women serve as officers in the army, Indian Air Force (IAF) and the navy. The recruitment of women jawans will begin in a phased manner with selection and training of 52 candidates every year.
An announcement in this regard was made here Friday during the army chiefs’ conclave. Former chiefs attend this conclave where the incumbent chief briefs them about the current developments in the service, officials said.
The officials maintained that the Corps of Military Police responsible for maintaining order in the army establishments, controlling traffic and investigating minor offences is also a non-combat or support service unit of the army. The army top brass is now finalising the terms and conditions of service for women and will shortly approach the Defence Ministry for approval, they said. The officials also said given the increasing need for investigation of gender-specific allegations and crime, a necessity was felt to have women in the military police.
The women recruits will undergo at least 42 weeks of training at the Corps of Military Police training centre, Bengaluru, along with their male counterparts and will formally join the service as Lance Naiks. It is the entry-level rank given to a soldier.
Incidentally, army chief General Bipin Rawat had some months back said the force will shortly open its doors at the jawan or soldier level for women to have a broader base for recruitment. However, he was reluctant about inducting women in combat roles and cited various reasons like tough working conditions in remote areas among others. Moreover, societal norms also make it difficult for the forces to induct women in combat roles, sources said.
The army has a strength of more than 10 lakh troops but does not have women as jawans. It is same with the IAF (60,000) and navy (50,000). However, the three services opened their doors for women as officers in 1992.