NEW DELHI – The Indian army chief has said that women military personnelare not ‘fit’ to be considered for combat roles within the army.
Speaking to *News18* on Saturday, General Bipin Rawat cited several reasonsto back his claim, such as women having the responsibility of raisingchildren and being the caregivers for their families.
There aren’t any women currently serving in front-line combat positionswithin the Indian army, he added. “A woman would feel uncomfortable at thefront-line.
The military chief also accused soldiers of peeping when their femalecomrades change their outfits.
Gen Rawat reiterated that he was ready to introduce women to combat roles,however the army may not be, as “most soldiers come from villages and theymay not accept a woman officer leading them.”
He also highlighted maternity leave as an issue for serving womenofficers. “She [a woman officer] can’t leave her unit for six months, butobjecting to the said leave could create a ‘ruckus’.”
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The army chief added that if he made a woman a commanding officer, shecan’t be away from her duty for six months.
Responding to a question Gen Rawat said that if a woman with children diesin a combat role, and her body comes back in a body bag, “our country isnot ready to see that.”
*This story initially appeared in News18link*
