The prospect of Indian women pilots roaming the skies in fighter jets soon is wonderful because it would strike a mighty blow for gender equality. Having broken the glass ceiling long ago, Indian women have been catching up with men in almost every walk of life. Combat duties on a par with men in guarding the nation would be the ultimate testament to equality even if it’s going to take years from now. The priority would be for the armed forces to first accept that women are equal to the extent of their being awarded permanent commissions rather than the short service which alone they are entitled to now.
The world over, save for a few countries, women are not assigned direct ground combat missions because of the fear that they would be subjected to physical torture and abuse if captured. The risk of capture may be far smaller when it comes to flying fighter jets, especially if they are deployed in defensive formations in our airspace, as Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha envisages. When it comes to technical skills called for in flying, women are as capable as their male counterparts, which means the Indian Air Force is far better placed to take the lead in the push for true gender equality.
Just imagine what the IAF move would symbolise for Indian women because Pakistani women have been flying fighter jets for years now. You don’t have to go too far back in Indian history to see how a combative figure like the Rani of Jhansi inspired the women of the country. To recognise that spirit, even if it is done so belatedly, is to accept the reality that gender lines are fast disappearing in modern society, particularly in the technological age in which brute physical force is no more a defining parameter nor is sex a biological constraint. It is appropriate that it is this week that the movie Suffragettes premiered in London, recounting the struggles women faced in getting the vote.
To think that man was dominant enough to stop even adult universal suffrage till just a few decades ago is to accept how male-oriented the world was. All that is changing now thanks to not only to more liberal thinking but also to the fact that women have excelled in the various avenues that opened up to them gradually. It is worth listening to the actress Meryl Streep who made the point of how a male-dominated review circle of critics was also determining which films would succeed and how women’s “flicks” have to struggle for recognition even now. The IAF has done a signal service, flying the first sortie as it were.
