On March 25, 2021, the Supreme Court struck down the discriminatory selection criteria of the Indian Army to grant a permanent commission (PC) to Short Service Commissioned Women Officers. It opened the judgment with the words of former US Supreme Court judge, late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, making it clear to the armed forces that it won’t tolerate any discrimination against the women officers.
In its verdict dated 17th Feb 2020, the Supreme Court of India had directed that women officers in the Army would be granted a permanent commission in all the services other than combat. Earlier women were only allowed to serve in the Army for 14 years. But the recent news on the matter tells a different story. The armed forces had not granted Permanent commission to many officers who had applied, stating non-compliance with Shape 1 fitness standards. In November 2020, out of 615 women officers who were screened, 422 were found eligible. Out of this 422, 57 opted to leave the commission with a pension. But the result of 46 officers was withheld on administrative grounds and non-receipt of medical documents, as per the army sources, said The Print.
(Photo: Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint)
Some of these officers petitioned the Supreme Court, citing the medical criteria outlined in the General Instructions (GI) to determine their eligibility. The SC criticized the Indian Army for discriminating against the women officers who had opted for a permanent commission. It called the Annual Confidential Report (ACR) evaluation system “arbitrary and discriminatory”. This involves the arbitrary medical fitness requirement for women to get a PC. The court questioned the Army for requiring the women officers at the age of 45 to have a fitness standard of 25-year-old male officers.
A bench headed by Justice DY Chandrachud said “the process by which women officers were evaluated did not address the gender discrimination concern raised in the verdict delivered by the SC last year,” as reported by India Today. They also added, “Women before us have persevered to get equal opportunity in the Permanent Commission…They do not come to the court for charity or favor.”
The top court has ordered the Army to consider the grant for the women officers in a month and gave two months to follow the due process. The verdict came after several women officers filed a petition with the court, seeking contempt proceeding against those who failed to comply with the earlier judgment given by the SC.
While reading out the verdict, Justice Chandrachud said, “We must recognize here that the structure of our society has been created by males for males”. The court recognized the fact that a career in the army comes with many trials, and with the responsibility of childcare and domestic work on women, it only gets harder. Women shouldn’t have to undergo such trials and tribulations just to achieve what they have worked so hard and sacrificed their personal lives for.
“The evaluation criteria set by the Army constituted systemic discrimination against the petitioners…… This discrimination has caused economic and psychological harm and an affront to their dignity”, said the court. All the women officers who have fulfilled the grade of 60% are eligible for a permanent commission subject to rational medical criteria. This is irrespective of them crossing 14 years of service, even 20 years as it is in this case.
Gender inequality is rampant in all walks of life, and one would hope that the military will be devoid of such discriminations. Turns out it’s no better. Women still have to fight for what they deserve by right. They are not given combat positions anyway, and now even the right to serve their country for additional years is being taken away from them. We welcome and applaud the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse these outdated army policies and grant SSC women officers permanent commission. If everything goes well, we can expect more women officers to take permanent positions in the armed forces in the next few months.
Read about Ayesha Aziz, India’s youngest female pilot. For more such insightful content, check out the women and empowerment blogs on our website.
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Originally published at https://www.fuzia.com.