Female
soldiers are in general, smaller and lighter than male peers, have almost half
their upper body strength and 25-30% less aerobic capacity; making their
endurance ability far lesser than men. The female skeletal system is less dense
and more prone to breakages; in particular to stress fractures. There are concerns
too, that women pilots do not cope with g-forces as well as male pilots do. Naval
opinion undermines women as submariners because of their need for more space; separate
toilets; problems of “hot bunking” (sharing bunks with male peers on shift
basis; the word “hot” meaning that the bunk retains the warmth of the last
occupant). Estimates pitch the additional cost of catering as a costly $300,000
per women submariner.
Psychological and Physiological Concerns
The
perceived negative impact of a combat unit's esprit de corps if a woman peer is wounded or taken
prisoner/molested is cited as a key reason for women to be excluded from
front-line combat. The Israeli Defence Forces report soldiers going berserk and
exhibiting “uncontrollable, protective, instinctual aggression” on such
occasions. There is also the fear of women ruining male bonding by bringing in
romance and its stressful/competitive fall-outs. Increased pregnancy risks;
attendant social disruption and women using their bodily functions and
pregnancy to escape combat situations are serious add-on issues. The issue of a woman’s instinctive
underpinnings to nurture and preserve life rather than take it makes men feel
women will always be squeamish about killing and bloodshed; an unavoidable
fallout of combat.
CONTRARIAN VIEWS FROM VENUS
Uniformed Women are wired to do well
Opinions about women’s ability to
cope with combat are not just driven by rhetoric but, equally, by research. A
2008 study by Jennifer Silva of female students enrolled in the US Reserve
Officers' Training Corps program found that female cadets saw military training
as an "opportunity to be strong,
assertive and skillful" and "as an escape from the negative aspects
of traditional femininity". The study reported that female cadets
"were hyper-vigilant about their status as women performing tasks
traditionally seen as men's work”. It is already well known, of course,
that women as a gender are far more conscientious than men; are more honest and
have far better communication skills; reinforcing IQ with Emotional
Intelligence (EI); an asset that women use routinely and men sparingly, and
whose possession could be a valuable
life skill.
Women don’t always
have to involve in Close Combat
While
the Army assertion about women performing physical tasks with noticeably lesser
competence than men is indisputably correct, it seems obtuse and archaic to
demand that both sexes should be tested by the same yardsticks and female
physiology remain the overriding factor in determining women’s combat worth. In
an Indian tank regiment of around 650, for instance, only about 200 soldiers
actually enter combat as tank crews; with another approximately 200 involved in
supporting tasks where the risk of close combat is lesser though still real.
That leaves about 250 soldiers who, though in the combat zone, will rarely be
involved with warfighting. The
implication is clear; women pitched into a combat zone do not have to be “like
the boys”. They can still earn professional respect in the roles that US policy has
now specified, sparing males for high endurance jobs.
Air Force and Naval
Issues
So
far as the Air Force is concerned, there is indisputable medical evidence that
male pilots are less able to handle g-forces than female counterparts since
women are less likely to suffer black-outs due to shorter blood vessel routes
in the neck. This does not make men lesser relevant but it certainly makes
women pilots more relevant. No wonder then, that western air forces and even
the Pakistani Air Force now allow women to fly fighter aircraft. Even
conservative India
has, as of January 2013, allowed women pilots to fly combat helicopters. The
Naval issue has also been needlessly hyped up as some countries realised, after
the Norwegian Navy first successfully inducted women commencing in 1985. Women now
hold senior positions in both submarines/ surface ships in some Navies.
Can Women Warriors
Cope with Combat?
The question of women being brutalized if captured
is, of course, real. That said, the brave attitude of Major Rhonda Cornum, now
a Brigadier General is worth noting. She was taken prisoner by the Iraqi’s
during the Gulf War in 1991. Asked not to mention that she had been molested, Cornum subsequently disclosed the attack, but
said "A lot of people make a big deal about getting molested,"
adding: "But, in the hierarchy of things that were going wrong, that was
pretty low on my list". In 2007, author Kirsten Holmstedt released Band of Sisters: American Women at War in
Iraq. The book presents twelve stories of American women on the frontline
including America's
first female pilot to be shot down and survive, and a 21-year-old turret
gunner. The bottom line? Most women can and do cope with combat, though wisdom may
lie in their avoidance.
The history of warfighting also supports the
contention that women can become skillful in combat. In World War 2, the Red
Army of Russia had about 4,00,000 women serving as tank crew, infantry,
snipers, military police, medics and nurses. Roza Shanina, a Soviet sniper during World War 2, was
credited with 54 confirmed ‘kills’. Between 1942 and 1945, 12% of Russian fighter
pilots were female. Britain’s Special Operations Cell trained 418 female agents
as spies of which 119 were shot, including Noor Inayat Khan; an Indian and a direct
descendent of Tipu Sultan.
The Indian Situation – No Combat for
Women
Indian
readers are aware that warrior women have been an important part of India’s
religiosity, folklore and history. Durga, a warrior goddess, Kālī, Chamunda
("the killer of demon Chanda and Munda") are widely worshipped.
Vishpala is the 8000 BCE Rig-Veda warrior queen who suffered amputation in
battle; then fought with iron prosthesis. Razia Sultana, Rani Rudramma Devi, Chand
Bibi, Abbakka Rani, Tarabai, Bibi Daler Kaur, Mai Bhago, Begum Sumru, Kittur
Chennamma and Rani Lakshmibai are warrior women who proved their worth in
battle. This past does not reflect our grim reality in terms of the current
positioning of uniformed women in our military society.
Defence Minister AK Anthony has, in a written
Lok Sabha response indicated that, in September 2012, the Army was short of 10,100 officers; the Navy 1,996 and the IAF 962;
totaling 13,058 officers. Women officers comprise a mere 3.3 percent of Army
officer strength; 3.9 percent in the Navy but a healthy 10 percent in the Air
Force. Women officer strength, 21years after their recruitment first began in 1992,
is 1,214 in the Army, 302 in the Navy and
1,079 in the IAF. These numbers exclude lady medical and nursing officers. The Army
recruits women officers in the Signals, Engineers, Army Aviation, Army Air
Defence, Electronics and Mechanical Engineers, Army Service Corps, Army
Ordnance Corps, Intelligence Corps, Army Education Corps and Law branches. The Navy
recruits them into the Law, Logistics, Observer, Air Traffic Controller, Naval
Constructor and Education branches. In
the IAF, though, women officers are recruited in all branches and streams,
except the fighter stream of the flying branch.
Rejecting the combat-role-for-women demand,
the Government has cited the HQ Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) report of 2006
and the Tri-Services Committee report of 2011. Women are currently recruited as
SSC officers for five years extendable to 14 years of service. Permanent
commission is however available in the Law and Education branches of the
Services and a few additional technical branches in the Navy and IAF.
Indian Women Officers Deserve Better
The author has seen
women officers in uniform perform with displayed capability in the war zone in
J&K for over a decade. He found them spirited, conscientious, gutsy,
principled, honest and reliable; capable of sustained hard work at par with
male peers. That they could not be
tested under fire is no slur on their capability or potential simply because
the current rules forbid entry into combat. That said, our crippling officer
shortages have often compelled us to “unofficially” use them in the war zone in
certain roles. The author did not come across any woman officer who backed out
by quoting rules or regulations. They
have carried out assigned military tasks as well as men have; assisted in rural
development, schooling, women care; running orphanages, schools, child care
projects in “black areas” where they were vulnerable to combat situations -
with as much courage as their male peers. Tested in weapon firing; during
Engineer bridging camps; night parades and exercises, they have displayed
adequate soldierly capability. In May 2012, seven women officers climbed Mount Everest; all being honoured by the President of
India for their world class performance.
While actual combat
in the Indian case is a long way off; certainly farther than it is in USA, our women
officers need to be encouraged by being granted permanent commission. We also need to focus on creating gender
sensitization amongst the rank and file of the armed forces and in its General
Officer ranks that greater induction of women will help reduce the crippling
officer shortages to manageable proportions. For the near time, posting
women to combat support units with the
same career guarantees that their male counterparts get is a jugad solution that the Ministry of Defence
must flesh out soonest in supreme national interest.
MAJ GEN RAJ MEHTA, AVSM, VSM (RETD)
