Women officers to get rights: Pranab

New Delhi: Women will get their due in the armed forces, the Government has promised. The Government on Saturday said women officers could be considered for combat role depending upon their willingness to undergo hard training.

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said he has directed the Army to sort out all salary anomalies and discrimination against women.

Women Army officers could be used for operating high-tech weapon systems till the time comes when they assume combat roles, said Mukherjee on Saturday. This was his first statement after a controversy started last week over gender bias in the three services.

"They (women officers) will be doing very well in Information Technology. They are doing very well in the medical services but we want them in other areas also. In hard areas also we want them to participate more and more depending on their willingess," he said in an interview to the All India Radio's Spotlight programme.

"Right now we are not putting them (in combat roles) because it is much more hazardous, but surely I am quite confident a day will come when they will make their contribution."

Mukherjee said he has asked the Army Chief “to look into…equal pay and uniform” for women officers and end all discrimination in pay and allowances.

Women were in a more advantageous position when it came to recruitments under Short Service Commission (SSC), he said. However, in certain other areas they have disadvantages in salaries, allowances and perks.

Reacting to allegations of gender discrimination, Mukherjee said, "We are encouraging more and more women to participate in the armed forces and they are doing a good job. They should be encouraged not only to equal pay, equal allowances and other opportunities, but we should create an atmosphere where they feel comfortable."

He also favoured setting up of institutional arrangements for enhancing their level of comfort. "After all this is a new area which we have opened to them and we should encourage more and more to come," he added.

Mukherjee’s statements come after a woman Army officer, Lieutenant Sushmita Chakraborty, shot herself to death in Udhampur on June 15.

A day after that Vice Chief of Army staff Lt General K Pattabhiraman said in an interview that the "Army can do without women". Pattabhiraman later apologised.