India To Allow Women To Join Top Defense Institutions: DW News
- 'India to allow women to join top defense institutions,' DW, German News, Sept. 3, 2021.
A Supreme Court ruling allowing women to train at defense institutions is paving the way for greater inclusion in the Indian armed forces. However, experts say the military still has a long way to go. The Indian Supreme Court ruled last month that female students will now be allowed to train at one of the country's elite military training institutions, the National Defence Academy (NDA).
In another move aimed at creating gender balance in the armed forces, the Sainik Schools (soldier schools) will be opened to female students. These schools, while also teaching a standard grade-school curriculum, prepare students for a career in the armed forces.
There are 33 Sainik Schools in India. Girls were first admitted to the Mizoram Sainik School for the 2018-2019 academic year, while a few other schools included women during that same school year. However, the new ruling will make the inclusion of women standard, paving the way for more women to join the military, which is vastly male-dominated.
"After the success of the pilot project to admit girl cadets to the Sainik School Chhingchhip, Mizoram, the government has decided to admit both girls and boys to all Sainik Schools for the 2021-2022 academic session," then-Minister of State for Defense Shripad Naik told the lower house of parliament in March...
More, https://www.dw.com/en/india-to-allow-women-to-join-top-defense-institutions/a-59073667
- Experts say the Indian military still has a long way to go to achieve full gender equality.