As women officers of the Indian Army seek to know from Delhi High Court why they are discriminated against in service, the court asks the government to submit a performance chart of men and women in uniform
As women officers of the Indian Army seek to know from Delhi High Court why they are discriminated against in service, the court asks the government to submit a performance chart of men and women in uniform
Here comes a hope for women officers of the Indian Army fighting "gender bias".u00a0 Pulling up the central government for not being prepared to argue the issue of granting permanent commission to serving woman army officers, Delhi High Court asked the government to submit a performance chart of men and women while on duty by Dec 14.
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Fighting for equality: 20 women officers have filed a public interest petition challenging the government's proposal to bypass them for future grant of permanent commission. Representative photo |
While on Thursday 20 women officers of the Indian Army sought to know from the court why they were discriminated in service against the men when both got similar training, the government was not ready with its reply. The court had asked the solicitor general to present government of India's point of view in the next hearing of the case (November 19).
"Two months ago, the date was fixed and the hearing cannot be adjourned", the bench headed by Justice S K Kaul said while refusing to adjourn the matter as the government pleaded that the Solicitor General was busy in another case.
Advocate Rekha Palli, counsel for the women officers, submitted before a division bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and MC Garg that despite having a large number of vacancies, the women officers are not being considered for the post. "There are 35 per cent vacancies in various departments. These women officers at par with men when comes to training and they have been doing the same job for 14 years. But the armed forces do not want them any more,"she said.
Earlier, on September 18 the Centre had rejected the serving officers' plea for permanent commission as they had already completed 14 years in service.
The court was hearing the plea of the women officers who have filed a public interest petition challenging the government's proposal of Sep 29, 2008 to bypass them for future grant of permanent commission. Currently, women are inducted into the army as officers under the Short Service Commission for a maximum period of 14 years. Their male colleagues are eligible to receive permanent commission after five years.
All men force?Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal PK Barbora's statement that women IAF officers must delay pregnancy if they want to become fighter pilots created another controversy.
Some of the petitioners condemned the statement. "Some of the senior officers don't want to lose their male-dominated bastion of the uniformed forces. Even though we give 14 years to the service at the cost of our family, we are thrown out," said a petitioner.
