Sex stereotypes no basis for denying equal opportunity to women in Army: What Supreme Court said
Judiciary

Sex stereotypes no basis for denying equal opportunity to women in Army: What Supreme Court said

The Supreme Court granted women Army officers permanent commission and pulled up the government for discriminating based on gender. Read the full judgment here.

   
Representational image of women army officers outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

Representational image of women army officers outside the Supreme Court in New Delhi | Suraj Singh Bisht | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Supreme Court Monday ordered that women officers be given permanent commission in the Army, making them eligible for command posting.

The Army traditionally opposed permanent commission or a long-term career for women, citing poor infrastructure and possible disciplinary complications.

The court observed that the government’s arguments were based on “sex stereotypes” which discriminate against women. It added that the court’s reliance on the “inherent physiological differences between men and women” rested in a “deeply entrenched stereotypical and constitutionally flawed notion that women are the weaker sex”.

The court granted the Centre three months to implement its order.

Read the full judgement here:


Also read: Women in combat roles: India can romanticise it but here’s why we are not ready yet