India’s Women Warriors
Today I want to talk about a topic which I am excited about. The rise of women combats training in India.
Women have come a long way since being killed even before they see the light of the day. There are still some parts of India where they are not given a chance to grow up. But today is not about the infanticide that took place. Today I want to appreciate the women who have undergone so many difficulties, came up victorious and those who are still facing challenges. The following are the women who are showing the world what Indian women can do. Amid all the bad things happening to women, the following acts as a beacon of sunshine.
The Female Swat Team
Who: They are the first of their kind to be introduced by the Indian Police. This is the second time that a team of women has been formed the first being formed by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha. India’s first batch of female police commandos was set up in Tamil Nadu in 2003. [1]
When: The Delhi Police gave an induction to the 36 commandos on 10th Aug.
What: They have undergone rigorous training for the past 15 months. They underwent the same training as their male counterparts, handling weapons, detection and climbing high rise buildings, hostage operations, unarmed combat, ambush, and counter-ambush, handling terror strikes and hostage crises in urban areas [5].
Where: The team is set to be deployed on Independence Day (Aug 15th) and be an inspiration for every young woman. They will be deployed in various parts of North India [6].
Why: At a time like this, we need to have teams which put women in charge. This team is special in that, very few foreign countries have their very own Swat Team.
Israel has mandatory military service for women, all women are required to attend training for at least 24 months [2]. India has started to catch up slowly by providing special cadres and officers. But this SWAT Team is the brainchild of the Delhi Police. The NSG first introduced the female commandos back in 2011-2012. It was the first time the NSG(National Security Guard) had a team of all women cadets [3].
After the induction, there is a renewed hope that these women will inspire more generation of women to join the police force as the current number of women in the force is only 7% [4].
These women have come from various parts on India with a clear goal and mission on their mind.
They are the inspiration for many women as they help in breaking the glass ceiling of the Indian Police force.
May we expect more good things to come from you.
Hats off for new SWAT team and luck be with them.
Love,
Pooh
