The glass ceiling has been broken significantly with three women fighter pilots commissioned into the Indian Air Force. After 150 hours of training, they will soon be in the cockpits of advanced fighters like Sukhois and Mirages. India isn’t the first country to allow women in such roles, even if they’re likely to remain on non-combat duty for some time. Such a mindset may not be appreciated in Israel, where women perform all kinds of combat duties, as well as in the US.
Women have been in Pakistan’s military since 1947, and for 10 years been pilots, with one said to be combat-ready. The breakthrough in India is a fine strike for gender equality, provided it doesn’t descend into mere tokenism. The numbers are very small now, and the armed forces must make way for more women in strategic roles if true equality is desired, and not just in the medical corps or as Army lawyers.
There are reports that roles for women in the Army are shrinking, despite the doors being thrown open to them in 1992. The Army is said to be short of 9,000 women officers, and while this looks alarming, it must be seen in the backdrop of the armed forces struggling to find suitable candidates, among men too. A soldier’s life, with its rigorous discipline, is not the most attractive career choice. One option might be to throw open the forces for women in all roles, only of course if they qualify to take up the challenge.
