A big step towards women empowerment in India’s defence sectors, Wing Commander Anjali Singh has been appointed the first female officer from any of the armed forces of India to be posted as a military diplomat in an Indian mission abroad. She joined the Indian Embassy in Moscow on Sep 10 this year as ‘Deputy Air Attache’. These kind of position is generally filled by a high-ranking officer.
Wing Commander Anjali Singh joined @IndEmbMoscow on 10th Sep as the Deputy Air Attache. She enjoys the distinction of being the first female Indian Armed Forces Officer to be posted as a military diplomat in any of the Indian missions abroad. @IAF_MCC @MEAIndia @WIONews @ANI pic.twitter.com/hOqcbPQlJ2
— India in Russia (@IndEmbMoscow) 16 September 2019
According to the Indian Embassy in Moscow, She enjoys the distinction of being the first female Indian Armed Forces Officer to be posted as a military diplomat in any of the Indian missions abroad. Wing Commander Anjali Singh, who is trained on MiG-29 fighter aircraft, joined her new assignment on September 10.
She is from the aeronautical engineering branch of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF had earlier also chosen three female officers as fighter pilots thereby becoming the first service to induct women in combat roles.
As per the ministry of defence statement, The Defence attaches from any of the three services, the Army, the Indian Air Force or the Indian Navy, had always been male officers till the appointment of Wing Commander Anjali Singh at the Indian embassy in Moscow, Russia. The defence ministry asserted.
Meanwhile, The Minister of State (MoS) for Defence, Sripad Yesso Naik had mentioned women fighter pilots are inducted and deployed in IAF as per strategic needs and operational requirements within the laid down policy, which is reviewed from time to time. “The strength of women officers serving in the Indian Air Force (IAF) as on July 1, 2019, is 1,905. Of these, eight are fighter pilots and 17 are navigators,” he asserted.
More than 1,900 women officers, including eight fighter pilots, have been serving in the IAF since July 1.
Significantly, The role of a defence attache is to assist in cooperation, training and procurement in the field of defence between the country she represents and the country in which she is posted. The Indian Navy is also identifying women officers for appointment in the country’s overseas missions.
Despite all of this, as per a report, The Representation of women in the armed forces in India has always been low. As per data available with the government, only 3.8% of the Army’s personnel comprise women. One the one hand, the IAF has the highest representation of women in the workforce at 13.09%. Whereas on the other hand, In Indian Navy; the percentage of women personnel is 6%.
