Indian Armed Forces to Recruit Women for All Combat Roles – President

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