A step towards gender equality

In a step towards giving equal status to women officers, the Navy has granted permanent commission to seven officers and has formalised plans to grant permanent commission in eight branches from 2017. The seven woman officers were inducted as short-service commission (SSC) officers.

Background:

So far women were allowed permanent commission in select streams by the Army and the Air Force while the Navy permitted only Short Service Commission for 14 years which means they were denied pension.

• In a landmark judgement in October last year, the Delhi High Court granted permanent commission for women and pulled up the Defence Ministry and the Navy for a 2008 order which it called “sexist bias.”
•  Officials later clarified that the 2008 order for permanent commission was gender neutral and it granted women permanent commission along with male officers in three streams — education, law and naval construction as other areas had logistical issues.

Facts and figures:

Previously, the Army and IAF had granted permanent commission to women. There are currently only about 340 woman officers who have been granted permanent commission in select branches of the Army and IAF, even though they have been allowed to join the three Services since the early-1990s as SSC officers for a maximum tenure of 14-15 years. Overall, women number just 1,436 in the Army, 1,331 in IAF and 532 in Navy.

What is a permanent commission?

A permanent commission means a career in the Army/Navy till one retires. A permanent commission also entitles 20 years of service and a pension.