Indian Army Inducts First Batch Of Women In Military Police
In a landmark move, the first batch of 83 women soldiers have been inducted into the Corps of Military Police Centre and School (CMP C&S) at the Dronacharya Parade Ground in Bengaluru. With a surge in cases during the COVID-19 second wave, the attestation parade was a low-key affair.
The army is the only one to induct women as non-commissioned officers. The commandant of CMP C&S applauded the women soldiers for their exemplary performance at the parade. Apart from that, he congratulated them for successfully completing 61 weeks of rigorous training that included basic military training, provost training, policing duties, ceremonial duties, and more.
With such high-quality training, he expressed his confidence that the women soldiers would be equipped to handle all kinds of challenges that come their way.
A look back
This is a step in the right direction because so far, the Army would only induct women officers in a few streams. This is the first time that women have been inducted in the non-officer category. Once their training is complete, these women will be posted in any of the army’s divisions, including those in forward areas.
According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), a total of 1,700 women military police will be inducted over 17 years.
“Adequate training and administrative infrastructure have been put in place and due diligence was used while developing administrative infrastructure for women recruits’ accommodation, based on interactions with the Officers Training Academy in Chennai, Assam Rifles and National Cadet Corps and the Officers Training Academy in Gwalior,” an earlier statement by the CMP read.
The trained women soldiers will perform similar duties as their male counterparts. Besides being deployed for mandatory operational and peacetime duties, these women will be an asset in the investigation of gender-specific crimes, says the statement.
The army’s first recruitment rally post-Covid was held in December 2020 that saw participation from around 4,000 women and 10,000 men, aspiring to join the CMP.
Also read: Army’s Fitness Criteria For Women Officers “Arbitrary” And “Irrational”: SC
(Edited by Amrita Ghosh)
