The talk show host was a menacing
man who had somehow taken the onus upon himself to carry the baton for equality
on behalf of the fairer sex. A couple of middle aged ladies were vociferous in
their opinions about an equal share with their male counterparts. And in the
middle of this chaos was a retd Lt Gen,smiling helplessly. This was a setting
from a talk show aired on a prime news channel and which I unfortunately ended
up watching. The talk show host was discussing the pros and cons of inducting
Lady Offrs in combat arms serving in active field areas. What amused me most
was the manner in which the talk show host and the two, third wave feminist
ladies were carrying forward the propoganda of an equal share for women in
combat arms. So much blabber from the people who had neither stepped into a
combat zone nor had any experience dealing with troops. The only gentleman who
shared a helpless smile was the retd Lt Gen,who lost out on the debate, probably
because of his chivalrous nature to let the ladies(and a very feminine looking
mascara laden talk show guy)speak.
Any which ways, I lost interest in
their blabber a few moments later, but which got me thinking – ARE WE READY TO INDUCT LADY OFFRS IN COMBAT
ARMS SERVING IN ACTIVE FIELD AREAS? Even at the cost of being labeled a
Male Chauvinist Pig(MCP) or a sexist, I’m writing this article. Let us consider
a few scenarios before we come to a conclusion.
SCENARIO I
A far flung post in Northern Kashmir is created to prevent a
new route of infiltration. The troops are inducted at short notice led by a
lady Capt. After a gruesome walk of 10 hrs through treacherous terrain they
reach their designated spot. There are no living barracks, no bathrooms &
no basic amenities there. The situation demanded troops to reach first and
administrative build up to follow later. Will the Lady Offr be comfortable
going about her morning ablutions in the midst of nature? Will she sleep under
the same poncho with her male counterparts without feeling violated?
SCENARIO II
After a successful stint in a CI ops area Capt I M Smart
wishes to go on a well deserved leave for his engagement. Posted in the same Bn
is a Lady offr, Capt I M Fair. Capt I M Fair is pregnant and also wishes to
proceed on leave. The Commanding Offr is caught between the deep sea and the
devil, for he can only send one Offr on leave at that time. Capt I M Smart is
told to postpone his engagement while Capt I M Fair is asked to proceed. Who is
responsible for the lowered morale of a bright young Offr serving well in a
high stress environment? What choices did the CO have by keeping an impregnated
Lady Capt in a high stress environment?
SCENARIO III
Hav I M Pagal hails from the back and beyond of Bhiwani
district, Haryana. He is carrying on a family legacy of producing fine soldiers
for the Army. He comes from a socio-eco background where women enact the role
of a nourisher and homemaker while the men take on the role of being the
provider. Posted on the LC fence Hav I M Pagal is enjoying some ‘quiet time’
thumbing through a magazine which has
pictures of scantily clad women posing. Capt I M Fair walks in unannounced to
check the living conditions of the barracks and takes personal offence at Hav I
M Pagal’s actions. She gives him a mouthful and awards him a warning letter for
actions improper of good order and military discipline. Hav I M Pagal is
flabbergasted! What wrong did Hav I M Pagal do when he read a magazine for
leisure and to distress himself? Was Capt I M Fair justified in punishing a
senior Hav for reading material which can best be described as ‘leisure
reading’?
SCENARIO IV
Capt I M Fair is a courageous young Lady Offr doing her
field stint in the dense jungles of Manipur. During a routine patrol ,her
patrol is ambushed. All the jawans are killed in the firefight whereas Capt I M
Fair is taken alive by the terrorists. A couple of days later she is found by
the rescue team. Capt I M Fair has been brutally raped many times over in the
last 48 hours and then dumped in a far away jungle. Will the media cover this
story in a responsible manner? Will Capt I M Fair’s kin and kith feel the same
patriotic pride, a mother of a slain martyr feels?
While I
have just brought out a few aspects of the problems faced while operating in a
high risk environment, there are millions more which can be told(due to paucity
of space, I’m letting go).While I, in no way consider women inferior to men, I
strongly feel that being in the front lines should only be for male Offrs, atleast
till we improve our administrative and infrastructure requirement alongwith the
social thinking that is presently in vogue. Women are in no way less
courageous, a mother bears more pain delivering a child than any man can think
of. A woman makes a million sacrifices in various roles of life like a sister, wife
or a mother. We have had the best of doctors, engineers, IT reps, pilots as
Lady Offrs. The best and brightest minds in the country are women. But for a
job which has various social repercussions, there’s still time when a Lady Offr
can be inducted into combat arms in active field areas.
WE ARE INDEBTED TO WOMEN, FOR LIFE ITSELF,
AND
THEN, FOR MAKING IT WORTH LIVING! -Anonymous
