The Indian Navy Day, celebrates 53 years of its most successful operations in the 1971 victory. It is an opportune moment to examine the role of the navy in women empowerment. The Indian Navy has the distinction of not only inducting the country’s first batch of women in non-medical military roles but also, the first women Agniveers. The Navy commissioned its first batch of women officers in Nov 1992 at INS Mondovi, Goa in the branches of Education, Logistics and Naval Law. From limited participation, tenured service and confined to combat-support roles to serving on naval ships, flying aircrafts, circumnavigating the globe, and commanding a ship, a lot has changed since then.
Prominent in the national narrative is currently the sentiment of Nari Shakti, fuelled by the state’s push to ‘women-run and women-led development’, reflected in G20 summit of 2023, in addition to the many state-funded social sector schemes. The reality was most evident at 2024 Republic Day parade which boasted of 80% women’s participation. One of the most powerful image of Nari-Shakti is, a woman in military uniform. The role of armed forces thus, has become paramount in facilitating and strengthening the discourse on women empowerment.
A question is why should society concern themselves with the representation of women in the military? To answer that question, one must rely on literature on militaries of western democracies where the fact that throughout history, they (and elsewhere) have been male dominated institutions based on a culture of masculinity. Traditionally, service in the military was both a right and an obligation of citizens; and full citizenship with all the accompanying rights was reserved exclusively for men. If women are to be first class citizens, then it follows that they must actively participate in the national defence and peacekeeping efforts.
In today’s world, women and men are equal citizens and have equal rights and duties. Throughout the world, there has been a rise albeit marginal, in the number of women joining the military forces. In NATO’s 2020 Summary of National Reports, women made up 13% of NATO Armed Forces and 23.1% of applicants. In Indian context, amongst all the three-armed forces, the Indian Navy has been at the forefront of promoting women’s participation in active service. A PIB release puts the strength of women officers in the Indian Navy, as on March 09, 2023, at 748 including Medical and Dental officers.
The Indian Navy commissioned its first batch of women officers in November 1992 at INS Mondovi, Goa in the branches of Education, Logistics and Naval Law. From limited participation, tenured service and confined to combat-support roles to serving on naval ships, flying aircrafts, circumnavigating the globe, and commanding a ship, a lot has changed since then
In accordance with the landmark Supreme Court verdict of March 17, 2020, Indian Navy began awarding permanent commission to its women officers (non-medical branches) based on merit. Following the change in the promotion policy, women are now being appointed on board ships, both as officers and sailors. Serving on frontline warships including aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates etc. has been a groundbreaking development in the three-decade old policy of women’s induction in the navy.
The Indian Navy, has strived hard to provide and promote gender sensitive opportunities. A slew of policy changes have been observed that have given a fillip to the narrative on ‘women in the armed forces’. Many frontline ships now boast of a woman medical officer onboard. Women Observer officers are now serving onboard warships as combat aircrew while also qualifying as a member of the RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) squadron.
Women Officers are being deputed overseas and are also deputed abroad for shorter durations as part of mobile Training Teams and other foreign cooperation engagements. A woman officer from the Navy was also appointed as a Defence Attache at an Indian mission abroad in 2019. For the first time, a woman officer has been laterally inducted into Provost Specialisation. After the completion of the At-Arms course, she is now the Indian Navy’s first woman regulating officer (Naval Police).
A milestone in the professional advancement of women officers in the navy has been the appointment of the first woman commanding officer of INS Trinkat, a Goa-based fast attack craft of the Indian Navy. The year also witnessed the successful completion of rigorous flying and ground training of a women helicopter pilot who graduated with the award of ‘Golden Wings’.
Reflecting the winds of change in the overall personnel policy regarding women, the navy indeed is taking proactive measures to leverage the complete combat potential of women in white. Complementing the same, is another significant step; the induction of women in PBOR or Personnel Below Officer Rank under the Agnipath Scheme w.e.f. 2022. 20% vacancies have now been reserved for women in ‘sailor entries’.
The women Agniveers have now been appointed at various bases and units. They are guarding posts, manning security functions, and have been deployed onboard ships. Interestingly, Honourable President of India, Shrimati Draupadi Murmu spent a Day-At-Sea on November 07, sailing on India’s indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant. She interacted with the crew and made a special note of the navy’s efforts to promote potential women sea-warriors.
In Indian context, amongst all the three-armed forces, the Indian Navy has been at the forefront of promoting women’s participation in active service. A PIB release puts the strength of women officers in the Indian Navy, as on March 09, 2023, at 748 including Medical and Dental officers
At a recent Band concert in the run-up to the Navy Day celebrations, the sight of three young women Agniveers in the award-winning and renowned Indian Naval Band was an extremely encouraging sight. The much-anticipated Beating Retreat and Tatoo Ceremonies held on the first four days of the month of December at the historic Gateway of India is always a magnificent sight to behold.
This year, one could see young women in white conduct their duties alongside fellow men. The Indian Navy provides historic and lifetime opportunities to its women personnel. In 2022, it trained its first all-women crew of Dornier 228 aircraft to fly an independent maritime reconnaissance and surveillance mission in the North Arabian Sea.
The Indian Navy also trained the first all-women crew of six officers to successfully circumnavigate the globe and now awaits the daring duo of #DilRoo who will be at sea for eight months, navigating more than 21,600 nautical miles (approximately 40,000 km) without any external assistance, relying solely on wind power. It is also noteworthy that three vacancies per batch have been allocated at NDA for women candidates of Navy and the first such batch joined the navy in July 2022.
The Indian Navy, has strived hard to provide and promote gender sensitive opportunities. A slew of policy changes have been observed that have given a fillip to the narrative of ‘women in the armed forces’. Women Observer officers are now serving onboard warships as combat aircrew while also qualifying as a member of the RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) squadron
In the wake of the growing opportunities now open for women in the navy, it must be noted that these developments have entailed a stream of changes in terms of training, accommodation, logistics and most importantly significant changes to the existing platforms in use of the navy. The infrastructure onboard ships have been augmented to accommodate women officers and Agniveers.
According to the World Directory of Modern Military Warships, the Indian Navy is the seventh most powerful navy in the world. It is also a great employment generator. With schemes and policies to promote women in the navy, it grants them access to more job opportunities. Policies and practices to promote gender mainstreaming will only strengthen the navy, which is becoming global in its outlook and ambition and therefore mandate not only a larger manpower but also a diverse perspective.
The Indian Navy is gradually enabling the substantial representation of women in the armed forces through its policies and practices. It is now moving towards ensuring that the equality of opportunity culminates into equality of outcome as well.
With the all ranks-all roles policy, the dichotomy of combat-non-combat roles in context of women officers, seems to be diminishing for now. It is a splendid start to the process of women’s actual integration into the silent force.
Though the Indian Navy has implemented new policies, the paramount question is have they documented, examined, analysed, and conducted research on such pioneering times in the history of the navy in order to identify strengths and weaknesses?
A milestone in the professional advancement of women officers in the navy has been the appointment of the first woman commanding officer of INS Trinkat, a Goa-based fast attack craft of the Indian Navy. The year also witnessed the successful completion of rigorous flying and ground training of a women helicopter pilot who graduated with the award of ‘Golden Wings’
It is a great opportunity for the organisation to add another first to its illustrious list of ‘firsts’ and promote a healthy culture of academic research in this relatively new area of study. A good example to follow is the NATO Action Plan on WPS (Women in Peace & Security) that can help advance and integrate gender perspectives into the forces.
There is indeed a dearth of scholarship and literature on women in the Armed Forces. In a paradigm shift from a closed insular attitude to a media-savvy and outreach-driven culture, the navy has transformed itself to become gender neutral. And precisely, for that reason, it must conduct and promote research on these pioneering years when women have got the opportunity finally to merit their integration; both horizontal and vertical.
It is, indeed possible for women to have a ‘career’ in the navy!
-The writer is a doctoral scholar and faculty at Department of Political Science, SNDT Women's University, Mumbai. She teaches Post Graduate Students the subjects of Western Political Thought, International Relations, and Feminist & Gender Studies. She has presented papers on the Indian Navy at both US and Canada chapters of the biennial International Conference IUS- AFS. The views expressed by the writer are her personal views and do not reflect the policy of Raksha Anirveda
