Women in Indian Army
Victimization of Women in the Armed Forces
A Paper on the Ethical Macro Issue
Submitted by:
Chandni Sarda
10BCE0071
III Year, V SEM
A2 Slot
Women have been serving in the armed forces for quite a long time, post-Independence. However, they worked only as a part of the Armed Medical Corps, Armed Dental Corps and the Military Nursing Service. The first batch of women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers joined in 1992. This resulted from a visit of a Service Chief to the United States, where he saw women participate in the guard of honor and was visibly impressed. Deciding that India should not lag in this respect either, the decision to induct women into the Indian Army was taken. Since 1993, the Indian Army, as well as the Air Force and the Navy, have been recruiting female officers.
Today, there are a substantial percentage of women in the armed forces with the Army counting 2.44% of women in its ranks, the Navy 3% and the Air Force 6.7%.
The induction of women into the armed forces has served to address the greater ethical issues of women’s liberation, establishment of gender equality, women’s advancement in the country and works to break the male chauvinistic mind set of our society.
But this is an ideal scenario. In reality, women working in the armed forces are constantly being victimized in a male dominated professional environment. There are several cases where women officers have been unfairly punished for various offences. In majority of these cases, sexual harassment by senior male officers was resented, which led to the victimization. Usually, a legal procedure is involved to authenticate the victimization. Hence, as an undeclared measure, punishment is awarded to women who dare to speak out against their senior officers. There are numerous examples where Court Marshall proceedings have been initiated against women who have dared to speak against the sexual harassment they have faced while on duty.
A Paper on the Ethical Macro Issue
Submitted by:
Chandni Sarda
10BCE0071
III Year, V SEM
A2 Slot
Women have been serving in the armed forces for quite a long time, post-Independence. However, they worked only as a part of the Armed Medical Corps, Armed Dental Corps and the Military Nursing Service. The first batch of women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers joined in 1992. This resulted from a visit of a Service Chief to the United States, where he saw women participate in the guard of honor and was visibly impressed. Deciding that India should not lag in this respect either, the decision to induct women into the Indian Army was taken. Since 1993, the Indian Army, as well as the Air Force and the Navy, have been recruiting female officers.
Today, there are a substantial percentage of women in the armed forces with the Army counting 2.44% of women in its ranks, the Navy 3% and the Air Force 6.7%.
The induction of women into the armed forces has served to address the greater ethical issues of women’s liberation, establishment of gender equality, women’s advancement in the country and works to break the male chauvinistic mind set of our society.
But this is an ideal scenario. In reality, women working in the armed forces are constantly being victimized in a male dominated professional environment. There are several cases where women officers have been unfairly punished for various offences. In majority of these cases, sexual harassment by senior male officers was resented, which led to the victimization. Usually, a legal procedure is involved to authenticate the victimization. Hence, as an undeclared measure, punishment is awarded to women who dare to speak out against their senior officers. There are numerous examples where Court Marshall proceedings have been initiated against women who have dared to speak against the sexual harassment they have faced while on duty.