Articles

Women In Defence and War

By Hema Ravi

In today’s scenario, women seem to rub shoulders with men in most professions right from the educational, finance, medical sector to the armed forces.  While some people are of the opinion that women should not be employed in such hazardous professions owing to hostile conditions, others feel women have the right to render services for their country by serving the army, navy or the air force.   While I  am not biased about working women and their working in the defence services, I feel it is better they restrict themselves to civil areas.

The primary reasons for these are that women have been viewed as caregivers and often have to shoulder the familial responsibilities in addition to a career.  Under such circumstances, working in the armed forces would force them to stay away from their homes for indefinite periods, additionally theymay have to live under extremely stressful climatic and political conditions that could jeopardize their health in the long run.

In recent years, it is not uncommon to see women pilots, captains, engine drivers during flight and train journeys.  The thrill of adventure and challenge has forced more women to come forward to take up such jobs that include space travel.  As women are endowed with the right temperament, intellectual and cognitive skills, they are suitable for a range of white collar and blue collar jobs.  Nevertheless, the physiological barriers such as child birth, maternity leave would prove deterrents, particularly if a woman is employed on the battle front.

To conclude, in the modern era, women have made a mark in all realms and proved that they can contribute productively to the Society that they should be given a fair chance in all sectors, importantly, should be given the right to choose the job of their preference.

Author Profile:  Hema Ravi is a Communicative English and IELTS Trainer, Co-author of Sing Along Indian Rhymes and Everyday Hindi, she is a prize winner in the 26th ITO EN Green Tea Haiku Competition, Japan (2015). Her verses and haiku have been published in HSA Anthology (2015), Atlas Poetica, Poetic Prism, The Enchanted Verse, Rainbow Hues, Contemporary Literary Review, Metverse Muse, write-ups published in The Hindu and a multitude of print and online anthologies.

Comments are closed.