Women have been part of the Indian defence forces for long, be it in the Medical and Nursing corps or the clerical cadres. But it was only in 1992 when the first female commissioned officer was inducted. The glass ceiling has since been broken, with women now being inducted as fighter pilots and as part of special forces. They are also eligible to get permanent commission now, after the intervention of the Supreme Court in the Secretary Ministry of Defence vs Babita Punia case.
While issues like the induction of women as officers through National Defence Academy (NDA) and the recent communication of a General about the challenges that the Army faces with women in command are animatedly discussed, the challenges faced by female soldiers in the Border Security Force (BSF), and inversely, the challenges that the organisation faces in their personnel management, rarely come to public attention.
The public tends to relate women soldiers of BSF only with the ceremonial functions performed by them; the daily retreat ceremony at Attari border, for instance, or other non-operational activities such as motorcycling, cycling, or river safaris among others.
The authorities have a tendency to project women as — shall we say trophies? — to be flaunted. The focus must actually be on ensuring and protecting the women's wellbeing within the organisation and projecting their operational usefulness to the organisation.