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Gender bias exists in Army: Officer to SC by Dhananjay Mahapatra
The Army suffers from acute gender bias to deny permanent commission to women officers who work shoulder to shoulder with male officers to assist and support troops in combat zones, Major Seema Singh has told the Supreme Court.

"The policies for women in Army not only discriminate her against male officers but also lower her status to that of a jawan/junior commissioned officer, whom she has been leading for 14 years," Major Singh said.

"They work for the Army for 14 years, which is neither pensionable nor gives her any retirement benefits. She is simply thrown out of the organization after 14 years and that too not on the basis of poor performance but due to her gender and left to fend for herself. The Army is using the policy of use and throw while dealing with its trained women officers," she said.

Women officers were not treated equal to gentlemen officers rendered unfit to serve the fighting arm of the Army -- infantry, armed corps, aviation, artillery and mechanised infantry.

These unfit gentlemen officers are absorbed in services -- Ordnance Corps, Service Corps, Corps of Electrical & Mechanical Engineers, Judge Advocate General, Education Corps, Medical Corps, Dental Corps, Remount and Veterinary Corps, Corps of Engineers, Corps of Signals and Military Intelligence Corps -- in which women officers endure identical job hazards for 14 years before being thrown out, she said.

Singh, through her advocate Meenakshi Lekhi, said the Army's argument that it could not risk women in combat positions stood on thin ice. She said men and women working in support arms work much behind the combat lines and have no danger of coming in contact with the enemy.

"Women officers and gentlemen officers commissioned into these services are performing similar jobs, undergoing similar professional courses and are being posted to all field and peace postings. There is no separate charter of duties for women officers or short service commissioned male officers and permanent commissioned male officers," she said.

"The strength of women officers posted in services in combat zone is 30% whereas short service commissioned gentlemen officers comprise 29% and permanent commissioned gentlemen officers have 23% presence," Major Singh said while requesting the court to dismiss the Union government's challenge to a Delhi High Court judgment ordering permanent commission for women.

She said it was ridiculous on the part of the government to plead before the court that it was alright for a women officer to serve for 14 years in combat zones, but thereafter they become a risk.

"The claim of Union of India that beyond 14 years there is a probability of women officers being exposed to hostile environment where there is a grave danger to them coming in contact with enemy, smacks of gender discrimination," Major Singh said.

She gave the examples of women officers commanding Army supply convoys single-handedly through the most militancy-afflicted areas of Jammu and Kashmir and winning laurels for the country abroad during UN peacekeeping operations in disturbed African countries.