Gurkhas to admit women who can pass strength test

MOD hopes that opening the selection process to female recruits will ease Army recruitment crisis

THE Gurkhas are to allow women to join up for the first time – but only if they can carry 55lb of sand uphill in a wicker basket.

The regiment, which has been a part of the British Army for more than 200 years, will open to women next year, and it is thought that the first recruits could be in the UK for training by 2020.

But the notoriously tough selection process – including a three-mile uphill race known as the “doko” in which they carry 55lb of sand in a wicker basket attached by a head strap – will not be relaxed for the female hopefuls.

It comes amid plans to increase the 3,000-strong Brigade of Gurkhas by a further 800 troops to help with the Army recruitment crisis, sources told The Sunday Times.

The Gurkhas’ motto is “Better to die than be a coward”, and competition to join the regiment is fierce. Tens of thousands of hopefuls compete for around 250 places each year. A Western salary of more than £18,000 a year, a pension for life and a British passport are seen as a golden ticket which will secure the future for their entire family.

Those wishing to join attend a selection process in Pokhara, central Nepal. Alongside the doko race, which must be completed in 48 minutes, recruits must be able to perform 75 benchjumps in one minute and 70 sit-ups in two. The successful recruits are then brought to Catterick, North Yorkshire, for a 10-week training course including lessons in English language and culture.

The Ministry of Defence website states: “All role-related fitness standards are the same, and unrelated to gender.”

The move comes after Nepal, traditionally a male-dominated society, elected its first female president, Bidhya Devi Bhandari, in 2015.

Gavin Williamson, the Defence Secretary, said: “The Gurkhas are renowned as one of the best fighting forces in the world, with a proud history of serving Her Majesty, and it is right that women have the opportunity to serve in this elite group.”

Britain began recruiting Gurkhas in 1815 during the Anglo-nepal war after their ferocity in battle impressed the invading East India Company.

They sent more than 200,000 men into the First and Second World Wars, leading to heavy casualties and tens of thousands of bravery medals.

Prince Harry, who served with the 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles during his tour of Afghanistan in 200708, said: “When you know you’re with the Gurkhas, there’s no safer place to be”.

All Gurkha veterans were given the right to settle in the UK in 2009 after a campaign by actress Joanna Lumley.

Lt Gen Nick Pope CBE, Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Colonel Commandant Brigade of Gurkhas, said: “This reflects the openness and diversity of the British Army.”