People's Democracy

AIDWA Wants Army To Become Gender Sensitive

THE All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has called for a clear-cut gender sensitive policy for the armed forces given the policy of the army to employ women. It has suggested that a set of rules regarding the recruitment and service conditions of women be framed and publicised so that all are aware of it as it would certainly help not only the women applicants concerned but the institution itself.

The AIDWA general secretary Brinda Karat stated this on October 1, 2004 in her reply to a letter from army chief General Vij. The army chief had responded to AIDWA’s taking up the case of a young woman applicant who refused to undergo intimate physical examination by a male army doctor. (See AIDWA letter to army chief on this issue in the accompanying box)

The AIDWA has further called for standardisation of medical tests. It pointed out that the two young women army aspirants, who had initially objected to being physically examined by male doctors along with Surya Moudgil but went through the exercise subsequently, have refuted the claims of the chief of the army staff that their physical test was conducted by a female doctor. Karat emphatically stated that they were examined by male doctors though the nature of tests conducted at the Delhi base hospital was different from the one to be done at Allahabad.

Whereas in Allahabad the candidates had to go through intimate tests involving removal of clothes, in the subsequent tests at Delhi they were asked to undergo only the ultra sound tests. Similarly, the male surgeon in Delhi did not conduct the tests for piles as was done in Allahabad, the two girls have said in two different letters addressed to the AIDWA general secretary, Brinda Karat.

Ms Karat has however stated in her reply to the army chief: “we appreciate your concern and the assurance that hospitals have been sensitised on the issue. Requests of all candidates remain our prime concern and since this is only the first case wherein a female candidate has felt agitated would indicate to you our own sensitivity towards their sentiment. Having said this, we would also like to stress that we shall not like to question the ‘ethics of the medical profession’. Even their hippocratic oath at the time of graduation is reflective of that ethic.” (INN)