VIII - WOMEN PILOTS AND INDIAN AIR FORCE

          Air Marshal PK Barbora Vice Chief of the Indian Air force made a funny statement yesterday:

          He said, “ the training of women as pilots in the air force is not cost-efficient because of the Nature’s way of life is that they get married to bring up a family. He also explained that it costs about 1.16 crores of rupees to train a pilot and if women pilots go into family way, she is off-duty for 10 to 12 months and the investment on her is not justifiable and fruitful for the nation.”

          He also added, “we can induct fighter pilots for show purposes but we spend exorbitant amount on training fighter pilots and if we are not able to utilise them optimally, it may not be prudent to have women fighter pilots at the moment.”

          This remark of Air Marshal Barbora is very dissapointing.  It is discriminatory and not logical. This is an era where women should be given equal opportunity with men without any hesitation whatsoever in any job. It is to be believed that Air Marshal Barbora’s remarks are because of his lack of understanding and awareness into the societal balance that has to be maintained for a harmonious present-day modern community.   It clearly shows his lack of understanding in giving equal opportunity to women.

I am sure Air Marshal Barbora is aware of the fact that women are in no way inferior to men in flying or combat skills. Noting the success of female military pilots in the United States, other countries are moving in that direction as well. China, Israel, and Pakistan have allowed women into combat. The reason is simple; many of the women who go through flight training turn out to have better flying skills than most men. However Indian Air Force remains, I would say, insensitive to this fact. The Indian armed forces conducted studies of women in combat, and concluded that there was no practical reason for keeping women from these duties. Both men and women demonstrate capabilities and weaknesses in the same manner irrespective of their sex differences.

          However, it is time we should recognize the ability of women in playing multiple roles, compared to men in general.   

.