Women troops will deal with female protesters: Army chief

Sometimes we have to face women during counterinsurgencies. They could be tackled easily if we have enough strength of women officers...

Indian army chief General Bipin Rawat suggested on Saturday that the force could deploy its first women combatants for operations in regions such as Kashmir, where soldiers are facing pushback from stonepelting female protesters.

Rawat’s comments came days after he said the army will open combat roles to women, and the process will begin with them initially recruited in the military police.

“Sometimes we have to face women in the front during counter-insurgencies. They could be tackled easily if we have enough strength of women officers and sizable other rank and file cadre,” Rawat said at the passing-out parade of the latest batch of soldiers at the Indian Military Academy (IMA). Women are currently recruited into selective areas of the army such as medical, legal, educational and engineering wings.

His statement came in reply to a question from reporters on how the army planned to tackle rising incidents of stone pelting by women in Kashmir.

The General said a social media campaign in Kashmir was misleading youth and spreading hate against security forces.

Kashmir has been on the boil since last July when Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani was killed by security forces. In the months since, more than a 100 civilians have died in clashes with the army and police during counter-insurgency operations.

Rawat also played down the issue of Chinese incursions into Indian territory, saying they were matter of “perceptions” by the two countries.

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