The Indian Air Force (IAF) being gender bias towards women employees have time and again been highlighted. On August 14, the Delhi High Court seeks the response of the centre on a petition submitted by lawyer Kush Kalra. The plea objects to the recruitment of only unmarried men to the post of airmen in groups X and Y trades. It alleges ‘gender bias and discrimination’ in the Air Force for not hiring women in technical (aircraft and ground systems) and the non-technical (logistics and accounts) grades in any of its departments.

After coming across the IAF advertisement issued in June this year inviting applications of only unmarried male candidates for the job of airmen in the groups above, the petitioner knocked the doors of the court. A bench of Chief Justice Rajendra Menon and V Kameswar Rao issued a notice to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the IAF seeking their responses to the plea. The petitioner alleged that the respondents MoD and IAF do not have any justification for denying to women as an airman in technical and non-technical branches.

The plea reads, “The eligibility criteria for the recruitment to the post of Airmen in group ‘X’ trade and group ‘Y’ trade in all the departments of Indian Air force clearly mentions ‘only unmarried male indian citizens’. Thereby, respondents are indulging in gender bias and discriminatory practice in employment.”

Earlier, the women were only allowed to fly transport aircraft and helicopters. On October 24, 2015, the central government announced that women could serve as fighter pilots in the IAF. This verdict means that the women are now eligible to perform any role in the IAF and there shall be no discrimination in the recruitment procedure. The recent advertisement jeopardises the government’s decision.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 15, 2018 05:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).