If you think that protecting our country and its people is something that only the men are allowed to do, you’re much mistaken. It’s true that the role of women in the armed forces was limited to the medical profession. Doctors and nurses were hired but women were not trained as soldiers.

All that changed in 1992, when the doors were thrown open to women at the entry level. Now women are very much a part of the armed forces. They serve as cadets and regular officers in aviation, engineering, logistics, law and executive cadres. Short Service Commissioned (SSC) Officers The SSC commission allows women to join and serve for a short period, ranging from 5-14 years. Upon release, these women can pursue careers in the civil sector. SSC officers, when released from service, are usually provided with gratuity from the defence government along with ex-serviceperson benefits.

However, they do not get pension. Permanent Commissioned (PC) Officers Female medical professionals such as doctors and nurses are eligible to serve till retirement and are eligible for pension and other benefits. These women are known as Permanent Commissioned (PC) officers. Female medical professionals can also serve as Short Service Commissioned officers after obtaining coaching for the preparation on Defence in Allahabad or Lucknow. Such women will have to qualify various eligibility criteria and appear for various tests successfully before they can be recruited as Short Service Commissioned officers in the following branches of the Armed Forces.

• ARMY: EME, Signals, Engineers, Army Service Corps, Army Education Corps, Army Ordnance Corps and the Intelligence and Judge Advocate General’s branch. • NAVY: All branches of the Navy (except submariners and divers).

• AIR FORCE: Flying (transport aircraft and helicopters), Technical and Administration branches.

• Coast Guard: All branches of the Coast Guard.

Conclusion:

Modern war is more about overcoming stress than managing physical combat. In these days of electronic warfare, it’s been understood that women handle stress better than men. This is a scientifically proven fact as well, that women not only handle stress better but they are also mentally tougher. A woman is physically a little less capable than men, but this does not under-qualify her when it comes to weapon handling or physical training. In fact, women have performed very well in both areas during their training. In the very first few batches of armed forces training at Trishul Academy, women displayed more endurance and some even out-trained their male counterparts.