The Indian Air Force is planning to induct women as fighter pilots, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha has said.
The surprise shift in policy will see women in combat duty for the first time in the Indian military.
A few hours after the IAF chief made the announcement on Thursday, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar said he would hold a meeting with the three service chiefs next week to discuss induction of women into combat roles in the military. The Army does not allow women into infantry, armoured corps and the artillery, while the Navy does not post them on warships and the Air Force is yet to let them fly fighter planes. The key argument put forth in support of the discrimination is the fear of women being taken prisoners of war, and the physically demanding nature of those jobs.
While announcing the dramatic shift away from the Indian military’s traditional opposition to women in combat duties, Air Chief Marshal Raha did not spell out how soon the historic step would be reflected in the Air Force. The IAF, at present, has women pilots only for transport aircraft and helicopters.
Air Chief Marshal Raha’s announcement comes in the face of several legal challenges mounted by women officers, including those from the Air Force, against what they claim is rampant gender discrimination in the male-dominated military. Most surprisingly, the announcement also goes against Air Chief Marshal Raha’s own stance the past that women are not physically suited to fly fighter planes. “As far as flying fighter planes is concerned, it is a very challenging job. Women are by nature not physically suited for flying fighter planes for long hours, especially when they are pregnant or have other health problems,” he had said in Kanpur in March 2014.
One of the arguments made by the IAF against induction of women as fighter pilots is the prohibitive cost of training a fighter pilot, over Rs.13 crore, and the concern that women officers could get married, have children, and thus disrupt the career before the investment is fully recovered.
While the new announcement is surprising, its time has come. With women officers mounting legal challenges, the Delhi High Court has, in recent years, issued two landmark orders: one in 2010, allowing permanent commission to them in both the Army and Air Force, and the second, a few weeks ago, when a similar order was issued for the Navy.
The military has also been giving in to the mounting pressure, but slowly and reluctantly. According to data presented to Parliament by Mr. Parrikar in August, the armed forces have granted permanent commission to 340 women officers. Historically, the armed forces employed women only as doctors or nurses, and started allowing them to serve as short service commission officers in the 1990s.
India’s reluctance to allow women into combat duties is in contrast to the policy of countries such as Pakistan, the UAE, Israel, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, and the U.S., where women flying fighter aircraft or performing most other combat duties is common.
