In a first, woman officer set to take charge of an IAF combat unit

Group Captain Shaliza Dhami, a distinguished helicopter pilot, will take charge of an air defence unit deployed in Punjab and responsible for tackling aerial threats from Pakistan, officials familiar with the development said on the eve of Women’s Day.

Dhami will assume command of a missile squadron equipped with systems capable of defeating airborne threats, including fighter jets, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, flying at low to high altitudes, said one of the officials cited above, asking not to be named.

“With this, there is no role in IAF that is not open for women officers. Like their male counterparts, they can compete for any role in any stream, and make it on merit,” said a second official, who also asked not to be named.

Women officers have made significant advances in the military ever since they were allowed to join the short-service stream more than three decades ago, the officials said. Most of the new opportunities have come their way during the last seven to eight years on the back of a firm push by the armed forces to boost women empowerment and tap Nari Shakti (woman power).

One of the turning points for women in the military came in 2015 when the IAF decided to induct them into the fighter stream for the first time.

There has been no looking back for women officers since then.

They are no longer on the fringes but are being assigned central roles on a par with their male counterparts.

Women are not just flying fighter jets, they are flying the latest transport planes such as the C-17s and C-130Js, eligible for permanent commission, assuming command roles, serving in extreme high-altitude areas, undergoing training at the National Defence Academy, and being inducted in the personnel below officer cadre (PBOR) cadre.

“More frontiers have been opened for women in the military in the last seven to eight years than the two preceding decades. Gender barriers have been knocked down across the three services. This is also a testament to their performance in military service,” said a third official, who also asked not to be named.

Dhami was commissioned into the IAF as a helicopter pilot in 2003, and has logged more than 2,800 hours of flying on Chetak and Cheetah helicopters in her two-decade military career. When she was commissioned, women officers could have never thought of flying fighter planes, assuming command roles or training at NDA.

The new role for Dhami is yet another milestone for women officers in combat and command appointments, said Air Marshal Anil Chopra (retd), director general, Centre for Air Power Studies. “Air defence units, such as the one that the lady officer is set to lead, are a critical operational asset of the armed forces,” Chopra added.

She has other firsts to her credit — she is the air force’s first woman officer to become a qualified flying instructor, and serve as the flight commander (second-in-command) of a helicopter unit in the western sector, the officials said.

Dhami hails from Punjab’s Ludhiana, and is married to an IAF officer, who is also a helicopter pilot. She has a meritorious track record, and has been commended by the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief twice. She is currently posted in the operations branch of a frontline command headquarters, said another official.

IAF has assigned Dhami to take over a frontline combat unit on the back of the army assigning women colonels to command roles. In February, the army began assigning women officers to command roles for the first time, outside the medical stream, and around 50 of them are set to head units in operational areas, including forward locations, under the Northern and Eastern Commands that are responsible for guarding India’s borders with China.

The latest development also comes two months after the army deployed a woman officer, Captain Shiva Chouhan, on the Siachen glacier for the first time.

The opportunities have given women new hard-earned identities, empowered them and helped bridge the gender gap significantly in a traditionally male-dominated field. IAF and navy have allowed women officers to join their special forces units, the Garud commando force and Marine Commandos, respectively, to promote gender equality within their ranks, provided they meet the criteria for selection.

Women are soon expected to be serving aboard submarines. However, tanks and combat positions in infantry are still no-go zones for women.