SC Breaks Another Entry Barrier For Women
By A Special Correspondent
First publised on 2021-08-20 12:03:11
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During the hearing of the case to examine whether women should be allowed to take the NDA exam, the government said that "women are being granted equal opportunity in the armed forces in the avenues that have opened up for employment of women. There is no violation of fundamental rights merely on account of the mode of entries available to men and women to join the armed forces". But the court was not convinced with this statement. The view in the apex court is that the army is not voluntarily willing to take a decision in this regard and hence the court passed an interim order allowing women candidates to take the NDA exam. This is a pathbreaking order and is a logical progression on the order on granting permanent commission to women.
The government and the armed forces have to recognize that gender discrimination, apart from being legally, socially and morally unacceptable, is hurting the army in many ways. Modern warfare needs technical and other competent workers in many fields. Since women are no less than men is most fields, by not recruiting them in enough numbers or restricting their growth or by keeping entry barriers by using lame and age-old excuses that are no longer valid, the armed forces are losing out on using their expertise, perspective and services and hurting the image of the army. This order will be a game-changer and now women will compete with men on equal terms for entry into prestigious military colleges.
In a separate news report the same day, the armed forces reacted to the SC order by saying that they were already making preparations to take in women cadets and all processes were being reviewed and infrastructure upgraded for the purpose. Then it was a massive communication gap between the army and the lawyers representing the government. If this fact was put before the court with detailed report on the progress being made and the timeline when women would have been allowed to take the NDA exam, there would have been little need for the court to intervene. Institutions and departments in India must act on their own to end gender discrimination rather than wait for judicial fiats. That would be a better way to ensure equality.
