When we talk about the Indian Army, we always picture a large platoon of men fighting through enemy forces and harsh weather to protect our country. But often we forget to consider the women that dedicate their lives to serving and protecting our country. Women play a major role in our country’s military activities and have been a major part of the various wars fought by us too.
And so, to honor the women that serve our country, we thought that we’d list out some of the most interesting facts about the women currently in our army. Here are the top 10 facts about women in the Indian Military:
- Women in the Indian army were originally considered as part of the “Indian Military Nursing Service” which was set up in 1888 by the British Raj.
2. The first army corps exclusive to women was set up in India in August 1942. They were known as the “Women’s Auxillary Corps” and mainly consisted of women from the Anglo-Asian community.
3. Women are currently not allowed to serve in combat roles if they want to join the army. As of 2017, women are not allowed to join the Infantry, the Armoured Corps and the Mechanized Infantry.
4. The first all-women peacekeeping force set up by the UN consisted of 105 Indian policewomen. They were formed and deployed in Liberia in 2007.
5. Shanti Tigga was the first woman to earn the rank of “Private Soldier” when she joined the Indian army in 2011. She was pronounced dead on May 13, 2013. You can read about the circumstances surrounding her death here.
6. Dr. Seema Rao is India’s first commando trainer. She has trained over 15,000 troops over the course of 20 years. Despite doing so much, she has never received any compensation for her work over the years. She was honored with the Nari Shakti Puraskar by President Ram Nath Kovind on 8th March 2019.
7. The Air Force is the only wing of the Indian Military that allows women to enlist in senior combat roles.
8. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Indian army started allowing women to take on roles other than nursing and medical roles.
9. Our National Security Guard (NSG) force started to induct females into the service in 2011. However, this was met with backlash and criticism by then Female Chief Ministers who ironically refused to be guarded by female bodyguards. As a result, a separate wing of the NSG termed as the “NSG Black Cats” were established in 2015 by the government. This wing was exclusive to women while providing the same training to them as is received by men serving in the NSG.
10. There are currently no women serving on the battlefield and most women in the army are in administrative and supportive positions. However, this is not due to innate sexism but rather due to the harsh conditions of the battlefield which usually disqualifies a large number of men from joining as well due to poor endurance.
We here at StuCred would also like to mention and thank our armed forces for protecting and serving our country with their utmost dedication and ability. It is through our military that we’re able to sleep peacefully at night and it would be inconsiderate to not acknowledge the hard work done by them daily.
We hope you enjoyed today’s article. Thanks for reading!
Tags-Top Facts About Women In The Indian Military, female soldiers in indian army, Women in Indian Armed Forces, indian army female officers, women’s role in armed forces in india essay
