Women at war

WOMEN AT WAR

The year has brought a virtual bonanza for the women of India. Not only did the Rajya Sabha pass the Women’s Reservation Bill, which had been fought for 15 years by women parliamentarians to secure 33% reservation of seats in Parliament and state legislatures, but the Delhi High Court, ordered the grant of Permanent Commission in the Armed Forces to over 50 women officers like their male counterparts. While the Women’s Reservation Bill has, however, yet to run the gauntlet in the Lok Sabha, the grant of permanent commission(PC) to short-service women officers is now a fact of life

The Women’s Reservation Bill was fought tooth and nail by Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav and others who felt that the Bill in its present form would only benefit the upper strata of women’s society,and that anyway women will always be dictated to by their men-folk. This latter view was endorsed, perhaps unwittingly ,by a division bench of the Delhi High Court, who recommended to the government to frame orders that women convicted of female infanticide should be shown clemency, as “ the mother is a mere puppet with strings being pulled by men who lecture her”. Now the question arises, will the men continue to be the final arbiter’s of women’s fates, once they join the armed forces ?

Presumably the grant of PC to women officers after their short service tenure, will conform to the same criteria as applies to the male officers, ie on volunteering to serve longer in the Armed Forces and subject to their career profiles. Also that women keen to join the armed forces will go through the same selection procedure as the men, and the same rigorous training as their male counterparts undergo at training establishments, like the NDA,IMA and OTA and so on.

So all for the good. There was no earthly reason to deny a PC to competent women officers, just because of their sex. There are currently 5,137 women officers serving in the Armed Forces, which includes 4,101 in the Army,784 in the Air Force and 252 in the Navy. These include women serving in the Army Educational Corps,Army Medical Corps,the Army Dental Corps and the Military Nursing Services, who anyway have their own service rules and regulations.

A few years back an outspoken Vice Chief of the Army had declared that it would not be advisable for women to be inducted into combat arms. This had made the ever sensation-seeking media go to town. It had also drawn the ire of the Defence Ministry and the politicians ,total strangers to the ethos and culture of the Services under which combat arms, particularly the infantry ,and the supporting arms, operate. Let me just elaborate a little on this.

About three quarters of the infantry, together with elements of the artillery, engineers and signals, are deployed in either the high mountains or the jungles,or in counter-insurgency operations. Of these the bulk are deployed in piquets far away from civilization. A piquet in the mountains consists of a series of either underground bunkers or over ground sangars, made of boulders. These bunkers/sangars have no en suite luxuries like attached bath rooms and so on. All share communal bathing and toilet facility, though the officers have a separate field-type of toilet. Water in the mountains is severely restricted, so daily, or even weekly, bathing is out. There is no privacy in combat zones, and on piquets due to the restricted room all have to perforce live in close proximity of each other. A lone woman, even if she was the commander, introduced in such a setting, would invite unsettling vibes. A woman casualty will have a much more traumatic impact-a woman taken a prisoner would be a shattering experience for her comrades in the sub-unit. Her presence in such isolated outposts, would detract from the primary function of such defence localities-which is to “watch their front” at all times.

As young officers women in combat units will have to lead in war. Even in peace time, counter-insurgency operations can take a heavy toll of young officers. Most operations are carried out at night, whether in the bamboo jungles of the Naga Hills or in the streets of Srinagar. Besides physical fitness of a high order an infantry officer, male or female must not only be physically fit, but must possess mental robustness of a high order. Not that all male officers possess these qualities . Some women officers may well be better qualified to serve in combat units.

Unlike the other more “broad-minded” nations, India is conservative by nature and sexes do not intermingle freely. Those who have attended Mess parties will bear witness to this, where ladies huddle together separately from the men folk. Nevertheless, even those developed nations, where women form part of an army, have experienced major problems as the following will illustrate.

In the USA,15% of the armed forces are represented by women. They are deployed mostly in support or administrative roles. In a recent hearing in the US Armed Services Committee ,the Pentagon’s latest figures show that nearly 3,000 women were sexually assaulted in the fiscal year 2008. This is 9% over the figures of last year-however, significantly the increase amongst women serving in combat zones in Iraq and Afghanistan, the figures rose 25 %. The Pentagon feels that at least 80% to 90% of sexual assaults go unreported because the victims are afraid of “ostracism, harassment or ridicule; and concern that peers would gossip”. There is also the fear amongst them that besides undermining cohesion in their units, if they are posted out “for their protection”, their career prospects will be effected in case they report such crimes.

An independent inquiry into inappropriate sexual conduct on board the Australian warship, HMAS “Success”, revealed that a "predatory culture" had led to young female sailors being bullied and coerced to have sex with senior sailors. There were also "rumours" that male sailors put out a "bounty" on who would be first to sleep with new female recruits. (There was a crew of about 220 on board the ship at any one time, including 30 women from most ranks)

The inquiry, also heard that female crew members had been threatened not to speak out about the culture. The ship’s Captain told the inquiry that male and females crew members had segregated sleeping and bathroom facilities and there was a strict no-touching policy at work.(No such luxury exists for the US Army women-soldiers who, in order to reduce the odds of being raped, had been advised not to drink water after 7 pm to avoid using the bathroom at night !)

Of course, the incidents mentioned, pertain to “enlisted personnel”, or other ranks. Right now in India we do not have female soldiers mingling with males, except, of course, in the Military Nursing Services, and AEC. Here we are talking of officers, who perhaps will not be subjected to predatory males like the lower ranks(though the odd cases have been reported of senior officers seeking “sexual favours” from their junior female officers).

The other problem which may perhaps arise could be that commanders may err on the wrong side in judging their female juniors. This may be because of the fear of being dubbed “Male Chauvinistic Pigs” hell bent on putting the “weaker sex” in their place; or they may go to the other extreme by showing unjustifiable leniency towards women officers on the grounds that their performance cannot be judged according to the criteria applicable to their male counter parts. Well, female officers can also display machismo traits, like aggressiveness, violence and authoritativeness, considered the sole preserve of the male, when placed in command of independent outfits.

There is case currently under investigation in the US Navy, of one Capt Holly Grant, who became the first woman to command a cruiser, USS Cowpens,with its complement of 400 crew, of misusing her authority , terrorizing her command by use of abusive language, under which even hardened sailors quailed. She was completely misjudged by her superiors, who were obviously entranced by her impeccable academic record, totally ignoring her aptitude for command. The scathing report after she was relieved of her command, accuses her of verbally assaulting subordinates, of profane language and of “tyrannical and capricious conduct”. Yet all complaints by her subordinates, who had cheered when she was relieved of her command, were ignored . Was her conduct overlooked because the US navy had been pressurized by the politicians to diversify its leadership, and make Holly Grant a part of its answer to satisfy public demands for inducting women into a male preserve ? There are differing views of the reasons for her being relieved of her command-was it because she was a woman,or was it because she acted like a man ? But the message is clear, if you are a female soldier or officer ,be prepared to be meet the same treatment as a male.

Of course,from time immemorial we have had women warriors .Over the centuries female soldiers have been recruited by people like Arabs, Berbers, Kurds, Rajputs, Sikhs, Chinese ,Filipinos, Maories, Papuans, Australian aborigines ,American Indians, just to name a few. We have tales of fearsome women warriors having been trained in the arts of war from childhood in the use of weapons and how to cope with physical privation. They have conquered men on the field of battle.We have all heard of the ferocious Amazons,who had their right breasts amputated to facilitate the drawing of bows. These women have lived apart from men and went to war in their own regiments.

Boadicea of Britonic Icenic,who led an uprising of the tribes against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire,Joan of Arc, who led the French Army during the Hundred Years War,our own Rani of Jhansi, were stirring examples of heroic leadership fought for their cause. It was, therefore, befitting that the first contingent of 500 women and girl soldiers, raised by Subhas Chandra Bose,as a part of the Indian National Army was named the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Taught jungle warfare, and trained in nursing ,they were not expected to take part in actual combat, but were to look after the care of vast number of wounded INA soldiers from the front. They reached Burma in1943.The pride that the women felt for fighting as a part of the INA is summed up by a girl recruit in a broadcast, “I am not a doll- soldier, or a soldier in mere words ,but a real soldier in the true sense of the word. I am a soldier in boots and uniform, armed with modern weapons”.

And that is how the Armed Forces expect women to be in the Services. While they may comfortably serve in the Air Force and Navy,where as combat airmen or pilots and sailors they will always be provided with a modicum of security and creature comfort, under direct command of their officers, male or female, in the Army for the present they may face problems in combat units, like the infantry. Here, too, they will be able to serve in rear echelons,static units and main command headquarters, as they are already doing with distinction.

With the present shortage of officers prevailing ,there is an urgent requirement to induct more officers in the three Services. Women will more than adequately make up this short-fall. How these women officers are to be employed must be left to the discretion of the Services. No politics must enter into the induction of women into particular arms or services. The fitness of cadets being commissioned into any arm or service is decided according to their character, traits and persona at the pre-commissioning training establishments, or even earlier at the Services Selection Boards.

But women soldiers will always have to go the extra mile to keep up with their male counterparts. As Claire Boothe Luce, the American politician and diplomat put it-

“Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to succeed. If I fail, no one will say ’she doesn’t have what it takes’. They will say, ‘Women don’t have what it takes’”


Dehra Dun RK Jasbir Singh,Lt Gen (Retd)
20 March 2010