
Indian Army inducts the first-ever batch of 83 female jawans into the Corps of Military Police (CMP), breaking yet another glass ceiling.
The attestation parade of the 83 women soldiers was held at the CMP Centre & School at Bengaluru on Saturday after they went through 61 weeks of intense basic military and provost training, which included all forms of policing duties and management of prisoners of war, ceremonial duties, skill development, and signal communications.
After reviewing the parade, CMP Centre commandant Brigadier C Dayalan expressed his confidence that the training imparted to the female jawans, along with the standard they achieved, would hold them in good stead. They will prove to be force-multipliers at their new units located across varied terrains and operational conditions in the country, he said.
Army spokesperson Colonel Aman Anand, in turn, said the force plans to induct 1,700 females in the PBOR (personnel below officer rank) category in the CMP in a phased manner over the next 16-17 years.
Officers say recruitment of women as soldiers in general duty in the CMP is a path-breaking step, with the Army also planning to deploy women soldiers for crowd control and frisking of women protestors in militancy-hit areas like J&K and the northeast.