Women Officers | The Last Word

Air Force has continually opened new Combat Air Force Roles for Women as Fighter Pilots, Helicopter Pilots, et cetera. It does not stand to reason, when Women Officers like Captain Ojaswita Shree, Major Dwipannita Kalita and Flight Lieutenant Shivangi can operate behind enemy lines with all expected risks, why Women Officers in times of Emergency cannot be deployed for Counter-Insurgency or in Counter-Terror Forces or attached to Infantry/Artillery Units. Major Gopika Bhatti commanded a Convoy from Leh to Pathankot in 2010, overseeing Junior Commissioned Officers and Jawans. Women Officers like Colonel Anshu Jamwal have also been actively involved in UN Peacekeeping Missions since 2004.

No nation can be secure, when half of its population is held back. Court understands, people always fear change. But as Bill Gates famously said, “people feared electricity when it was invented… didn’t they.”

– Hon’ble Justice Manmohan, Arshnoor Kaur v. Union of India, [Writ Petition (Civil) No. 772 of 2023].