N equality, a andmark ruling

E SC’S ruling on opening NDA to women is ndmark step. Armed forces must evolve

he Supreme Court (SC)’S interim ruling allowing women to sit for the National Defence Academy (NDA) entrance exam for entry into the Indian Army is a game-changer in eliming gender discrimination. The court will hear matter again on September 8 for final orders. landmark ruling is a logical step forward after SC’S intervention in 2020 ordering the Centre to nt permanent commission to women in the Navy Army. Women are already being recruited ugh the Officers’ Training Academy and Short vice Commission. Therefore, shutting off entry ugh NDA is inconsistent with the often stated m that the armed forces have evolved on gender. he apex court has been consistently critical of the riminatory attitude when it comes to giving men equal opportunities in the Army. On dnesday, the SC bench acerbically observed: n’t make [the] judiciary intervene every time. Do urself rather than inviting orders from the court. must accept the broad principle of gender trality and structure it to your peculiar set-up.” resent, there are only 0.56% women officers in Army, 1.08% in the Air Force and 6.5% in the y — in the 1.4 million-strong armed forces. uments to keep women out of the Army — low eptance in leadership roles, physical constraints, nerability to sexual and other harassment, or lack nfrastructure — reflect institutional biases which d to be corrected. Women are victims of this dset and must not be penalised for it. Since the uction of women into the Army in 1992 as cers, there has also been little evidence of women king special treatment. he very nature of warfare has changed. To be e, physical fitness remains a prerequisite for both n and women, but technical expertise, decisionking skills and mental resilience are equally ortant, none of which are governed by gender straints. If NDA needs to change the curriculum, ate new infrastructure and provide for separate ning standards to facilitate gender inclusion, n it must do so to ensure that the court’s directive arried out in letter and spirit. At the root of all the rulings on women in the Army lies the principle quality. This is not only important to meet a rished constitutional value, but will also make ed forces better and stronger. The court has ned yet another door to gender inclusion — the ernment and forces must embrace the change.