Women Army officers eligible for permanent commission

Women Army officers eligible for permanent commission

• The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed the Union government’s submissions that women are physiologically weaker than men as a “sex stereotype” and declared that Short Service Commission (SSC) women officers are eligible for permanent commission and command posts in the Army irrespective of their years of service.
• The order castigated the government for submitting a note containing written submissions portraying women as physiologically unfit for answering the “call beyond duty” of the Army. The note had shown women officers in a poor light, saying isolation and hardships would eat into their resolve and they would have to heed to the call of pregnancy, childbirth, and family. The note had mentioned that women ran the risk of capture by the enemy and being taken prisoner of war
• The judgment recorded that the policy statement had endorsed permanent commission for SSC women officers in 10 streams of the ‘Combat Support Arms’ and ‘Services’ sections. These are Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Army Air Defence, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers (EME), Army Service Corps, Army Ordnance Corps, and Intelligence, in addition to the existing streams of Judge Advocate General ( JAG) and Army Education Corps
• The policy decision of the Union government is a recognition of the right of women officers to equality of opportunity
• SSC for women is available only in the ‘Combat Support Arms’ and ‘Services’ wings of the Army.
• The court dismissed the government’s stand that only women officers with less than 14 years of service ought to be considered for permanent commission, and those with over 20 years of service should be pensioned immediately.

Source: The Hindu