As someone who donned uniform 56 years ago — from life as a cadet in the Academy to that of chief of army staff — I feel disappointed with the unfair manner in which the issue of women in the army has been dealt with.

Working conditions of women in the army should be viewed in perspective. People who allege gender prejudice, or increased sexual harassment, ought to know that women have been part of the army since World War II. Women medical officers started joining the army later. Two officers attained lieutenant general equivalent ranks in the navy and air force recently.

The voluntary Women Special Entry Scheme (WSES) was started after finalising terms and conditions (five years service) with the government in ’92. In response, for 50 vacancies then, there were 1,800 applicants. Soon after, the navy and air force too started similar schemes. The number of vacancies, the duration of service, the scope of work in different arms and services of the army, and deployment areas have been gradually expanded. About 950 women officers are serving in the army under this scheme now. The WSES was further modified last year to enable them to work for 14 years and attain the rank of lieutenant colonel, if found fit. The number of women medical officers and nursing officers — with separate terms of employment — has also expanded.

Initially, women officers were seldom sent to forward areas. But with the gradual increase in the field area commitments of the army, such postings have now become almost as frequent as that for their male counterparts. The only exception is frontline combat conditions where it is tactically not possible to provide women the minimum privacy in keeping with Indian social and cultural conditions, or the minimum security from being captured by the enemy or hostile elements. In most frontline combat conditions, including the Siachen Glacier, personnel live in or operate day and night from common bunkers and trenches. Tanks and gun crews operate in very small teams inside the tank or out in the open. For these reasons primarily, women officers are not inducted into the Infantry, Armoured Corps and Artillery.

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