The Pakistan Army has decided to compete with the PAF in female recruitment and has invited graduate and post grad degree holding women to apply and join some frontline branches as officers in the ranks of Captains and Majors. So far women in PA served only in the medical and nursing corps, now they are allowed to join the Signals, EME, JAG, PR DTE, Education and Administration. All of which are significant branches with the Signals often being considered a combat arm and the EME a most important limb.
While Education, JAG, PR, Admin mostly comprises special purpose commissioned or seconded (from other arms) personnel and carry out mostly office work, officers and men serving in the Signals and EME are combat ready regulars, who are sent on field exercises and can serve on the frontline and see action.
These women in this stream will not undergo the regular officer training at PMA, I beleive their role (for those joining EME/Signals) will remain limited as compared to their male counterparts who join as longcourse/tgc cadets and are trained as regular soldiers, attend infantry courses, other combat & staff courses, serve in workshops, field areas, border areas as well as HQs at various levels.
So PA isn’t recruiting these women for field jobs i think. Let’s see what more info comes out about how they’d serve their branches. It’s a very attractive stream for those women who are interested in a militray career.
Women should not be allowed into combat roles, due to the risk of rape if captured. Even if a woman is willing to accept that risk it should be denied.
Women should have no limits on military roles behind the front line, and certainly should be combat-trained in case enemy breakthroughs happen and safe areas become combat zones.
However, they should not be deliberately placed in circumstances where capture is a real risk.
Sadly, especially in our society. Imagine what would happen to a woman soldier who returned home after being captured as a prisoner, bearing a child or AIDS as a result of rape?
i think that pakistan's army is in no statistical need of women soldiers to be present in combat. take a look at united states. the equal rights ammendment hasn't passed congress because if it does - women will be required to go into combat with men if there is a draft. now, why would women go into combat for pakistan? the scientist makes a good point by saying that women soldiers should have all options open for promotion, away from the front line. keeping women away from the front line combat is a civilized military situation. no country boasts of putting their women deliberately in harm's way. having these soldiers armed and ready for war, will most certainly prove to be a progressive national advantage.
Not at all. There are plenty of military roles that do not involve being on the front line.
Military Police, Air defence, medical, Logistics, maintainance, certain signals roles, intelleigence, certain artillery roles, etc.
Military does not mean front line. My grandfather served through a war against India without being in the front line, being a colonel in logistics during 1965.