In some great news, this will mark the first time that the Indian Army has deployed women soldiers near the line of control with Pakistan.
The women soldiers have been deployed in that area for internal security and combat duties. They are a part of the paramilitary Assam Rifles and on deputation, have entered the Indian Army. The soldiers are stationed in the Tangdhar area of North Kashmir.
The women platoon consists of around 30 women soldiers who are led by a third-generation military officer in her family, Captain Gursimrann Kaur of the Army Service Corps. They have been given the task to guard the road that goes towards LOC.
These women soldiers are deployed at a height of ten thousand feet which happens to be at the top of the Sadhana Top of the LOC.
An officer commented that:
Deployed at security checkpoints leading to the LoC, the women soldiers are also being used for crowd control and frisking of women because there are intelligence inputs of weapons and drugs being smuggled across.
Women have been a part of the army since the mid-1990s but only in small numbers and as officers. They are not allowed to join the armoured corps, mechanised infantry, artillery or the ‘fighting arms’ of the infantry.
But last year, Army started recruiting the first lot of around 50 women as jawans or soldiers in the Corps of Military Police (CMP). They are, at present, undergoing training.
The army is planning to take around 800 women in the military police which will involve an intake of over 50 personnel yearly. This step will ensure that proper aid is given in probing criminal cases like molestations, rapes and also to maintain “good order and discipline” in military formation.
An officer also mentioned that:
A need was also felt for women soldiers in forward locations for frisking and other duties. Women police personnel are not always available in such areas. Till the women in CMP actually join service, we are using women soldiers of Assam Rifles for such duties.
It is always great to see women succeeding in life and doing great things for the country.