108 female officers to be promoted by Army to Colonel rank across various branches

In a significant victory for women officers, the Indian Army will begin the process of promoting 108 of them to the rank of Colonel on Monday (January 9). According to Army sources who spoke to India Today, this is the first time that women officers will be chosen for command positions in the Indian Army’s engineering, military intelligence, air defence, ordnance, and service branches.

The decision was made shortly after a women officer was stationed at the Siachen Glacier and as more women are being given equal opportunity in virtually all branches of the armed forces.

‘Women are serving proudly and confidently in various operational theatres of the Indian Army. Women officers are being given opportunities at par with their male counterparts. The process for selection of Women officers to tenant command assignments in Colonel rank is in progress,’ officials said.

The Army has already taken other steps to empower women officers, such as considering all women who have completed short service commissions for permanent commission alongside their male counterparts.

The National Defense Academy has set aside up to 20 openings per year for women cadets. In addition, 80 positions in the officers’ training academies are open to SSC women officers. Beginning in 2022, women officers will be directly commissioned into the Army Aviation Corps’ Flying Branch.

In the first operational deployment of a female Army officer to the highest battlefield in the world, Captain Shiva Chauhan of the Corps of Engineers has been assigned to a frontline post in Siachen Glacier. After undergoing extensive training, the officer was assigned to the Kumar post in Siachen, which is situated at an elevation of roughly 15,600 feet, for a three-month assignment. Avalanche and crevasse rescue exercises, ice wall climbing, endurance training, and survival drills were all part of the training.