The Central government told the Supreme Court that the male troops of the Indian Army are not prepared to accept women commanders. “The composition of rank & file being male, and predominantly drawn from rural background, with prevailing societal norms, the troops are not yet mentally schooled to accept women officers in command,” the lawyers representing the government said.
The government also cited various other reasons including family responsibilities, prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood and the danger of the women commanders being taken Prisoner of War (PoW).
The top court was hearing a plea of some of the female officers for command posting after getting permanent commission.
Twitter users slammed the government for their "misogynistic" statement. "Welcome to 21st Century India! Modi regime tells Supreme Court that women should Not be officers in the Army, because: 1. Male soldiers will not obey them, 2. Women officers will get pregnant, 3. Women are physically, mentally & psychologically weak," wrote a user.
Another user wrote, "The *government* sets out unvarnished misogny - "they won't take orders from women" - and pregnancy discrimination as a reason for suppressing army women. i.e. government is sexist because troops are sexist. I doubt the latter has been proven. So what are we left with?"
Here is how Twitter reacted:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said if there is a will and a change in mindset on the part of the government, then women officers could be allocated command posts in the Army. The court also pointed out that there are many other services along with combat operations where women could be accommodated.
Senior Advocate R. Balasubramaniam, representing the Ministry of Defence, said there are no rules in the appointments, which contribute towards gender-based discrimination for promotion, appointments, etc. He also emphasised that all provisions and rules apply equally to both men and women, and any proposition of gender discrimination is misplaced.
A bench headed by Justice D. Y. Chandrachud and comprising Ajay Rastogi said there are two things that are required to remove any form of gender discrimination -- "administrative will and change in mindset."
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court that women are better than men, and clarified that he did not contend that men cannot take commands from the women.
The court has reserved the order and asked all parties concerned to submit all notes and submissions by Friday.
