New Delhi, India (CU)_According to the latest government report, the headcount of female military personnel has nearly tripled in the last six years, with further opportunities opened for them in the future. In an encouraging step towards women empowerment, the government informed Parliament that 9,118 women force are currently involved in the army, navy and air force.
Recent government data revealed that the military sector is encouraging women to pursue careers in the armed forces and that government provides them with more avenues to boost career progression. On Monday, the government told Parliament that currently, 6,807 female officers in the military, 1,607 in the air force and 704 female officers in the navy are serving in Indian armed forces.
Above all, there were around 3,000 female military personnel in 2014-15, and the government also enforced several measures such as permitting them to operate fighter aircraft, naval aircraft, etc., to increase the participation of woman in the armed forces. This statistic precludes the military’s medical sector that has represented women for decades.
However, the number of women still constitutes a minority in the military service, accounting for 0.56% of the military, 1.08% of the air force, and 6.5% of the navy. In 2015, the decision of IAF to include woman into the fighter stream was considered as a huge milestone for women in the armed forces. In 2016, the first naval women were introduced as pilots of maritime surveillance aircraft. Previously, for the first time, 34 women officers of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were inducted into the elite anti-Maoist Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) unit of the CRPF.
