Reuters, 24/02 14:53 CET
By Nita Bhalla
NEW DELHI
(Thomson Reuters Foundation) – India will allow women to take up combat
roles in all sections of its army, navy and air force, President Pranab
Mukherjee said, signalling a radical move towards gender parity in one
of the world’s most male-dominated professions.
Most countries employ women in various roles in their
armed forces but only a handful, including Australia, Germany, Israel
and the United States, have allowed them to take on fighting, or combat,
roles.
India, which has one of the largest armies in the world,
has resisted such a move, citing concern over women’s vulnerability if
captured and over their physical and mental ability to cope with the
stress of frontline deployments.
Addressing both houses on the eve of parliament’s budget
session, the president – who is also supreme commander of the armed
forces – said the government would in future recruit women for fighting
roles in the armed forces.
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Source: Euronews
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