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First woman DG of SSB: From force to force, women start to get their due

Last month, Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved up to 33% representation for women in non-gazetted posts in paramilitary forces.

Archana Ramasundram, senior IPS officer, Sashastra Seema Bal, SSB, paramilitary force, National crime records bureau, Nepal, Bhutan, Central Reserve Police Force, CRPF, BSF, Border Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police,Tamil Nadu Officer, CBI, Narendra Modi, Prime minister Narendra Modi, Modi, Andhra Pradesh Cadre, SAARC , India news, IPS news Archana Ramasundaram, first woman DG of SSB. (Express Photo)

The appointment of Tamil Nadu IPS officer Archana Ramasundaram as the new DG of Sashatra Seema Bal, making her the first woman chief of a paramilitary force, comes at a time when the government has been making efforts to give women adequate representation and positions in police forces.

Last month, Home Minister Rajnath Singh approved up to 33% representation for women in non-gazetted posts in paramilitary forces. The quota is 33% in CRPF and CISF and 15% in ITBP, BSF and SSB. This was a massive jump from the minimum 5% quota advised by the UPA to paramilitary forces.

In March last year, the cabinet cleared 33% reservation for women in Delhi police and forces of all UTs. Later, the Home Ministry sent advisories to the states asking them to ensure 33% quota for women in their forces.

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Last November, Rajnath told Parliament, “Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar advocated social security for women and in this regard, the government has taken an important step, which is related to the Ministry of Home Affairs. We have decided that there should be 33 per cent reservation for women in all police and paramilitary forces. We have already sent an advisory in this regard to all the states.”

In fact, both the UPA and the NDA have spoken about representation of women in forces. More than two years before Ramasundaram’s appointment, the UPA had appointed Aruna Bahuguna the first chief of National Police Academy in Hyderabad — she had been the first woman special DG in CRPF in 2013.

Festive offer

Following a nudge from the ministry, paramilitary forces at their level too have been recruiting more women than ever at various levels and are now prepared to press them into combat roles.

In 2014, the CRPF sent two units from its Mahila battalion to Bastar to participate in anti-Naxal operations. This was a pilot project to assess the feasibility of the exercise. A year later, CRPF DG Prakash Mishra articulated the force’s intentions: “If Naxals can fight with women cadre, why can’t we.”

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He said, “We are going to give more operational duties to our women personnel. We are sending our women personnel to some of the most difficult areas.” Sources said the force will deploy about 300 women commandos on anti-Naxal operations in a selected states.

Not only is representation of women in paramilitary forces low (less than 3%) but those employed are not pressed into combat roles either; they are restricted to administrative or law and order duties.

Indo-Tibetan Border Police, which guards the Sino-Indian border in difficult climatic conditions and has traditionally relied on male perosnnel, last year decided to increase the representation of women up to 50%. At just 1.8%, women have the worst representation in the ITBP.

ITBP director general Krishna Chaudhary had told The Indian Express, “We have decided to have more women in the force. We are also committed to giving them combat roles. We have decided we will try to have 50%representation of women in our strength at all border BoPs. In cases where it is not possible, we will ensure it is at least over 30 per cent.” The force is at present training a special contingent of 500 Mahila constables who will take position at the border this year.

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The BSF, the second largest paramilitary force after the CRPF, until recently did not have any provision for recruitment of women officers at assistant commandant level. Under rules approved in 2013, the BSF got its first woman officer, Tanushree Parikh, last year. Parikh is yet to join the force.

It took the SSB a year more to get approval for appointment of women officers in its combat ranks. In April 2014, the government approved recruitment of young women as ‘combat officers’ in the second largest border guarding force.

First uploaded on: 03-02-2016 at 01:59 IST
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