Craze among Indian women to join armed forces |
India has for long believed in equality between Women and Men in every field of service. Women in India, given even half a chance, would jump at joining the armed forces in far larger numbers, even as jawans for the first time. In the 15-lakh strong armed forces, records are all set to be shattered, with over two lakh young girls applying online for just 100 vacancies for women jawans in the Corps of Military Police. The Army is concurrently also planning to raise a "Mahila Provost Unit" in the Territorial Army for the first time, with two officers, three junior commissioned officers and 40 soldiers. The armed forces till now have inducted women only as officers, and kept them firmly away from serving on board warships and submarines as well as joining units in the Army like infantry, armoured corps and artillery. The Army plans to deploy women soldiers, for crowd control and frisking of women protestors in militancy-hit areas like Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast. The lack of women police personnel poses serious problems for the Army in these disturbed areas. Moreover, the CMP women will also help in the investigation of criminal cases like rapes and molestation. Women, of course, continue to be a miniscule number in the male-dominated environs of the armed forces.
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