CHANDIGARH: The Punjab and Haryana high court has issued notice to the central government on a petition filed by a former woman officer of the Indian Army seeking directions that the term, “ex-service man”, be replaced by gender-neutral and gender-inclusive terms such as “ex-service members” or “ex-service personnel.” Her main contention is that she is a woman and not a man, thus, former woman officers, like her, should not be called ex-servicemen.
A division bench, comprising acting Chief Justice Ritu Bahri and Justice Nidhi Gupta, has issued the notice on the plea filed by Captain Sukhjit Pal Kaur Sanewal (retired), who was among the initial short service commissioned woman officers in the Army.
She pointed out that while women were always a part of the Army as nurses and doctors, they have also been serving in other arms and services since the 1990s and are now even holding command appointments after judgments to this effect by the high courts and the Supreme Court.
Ex-servicemen use promotes gender stereotypes: Plea
However, according to the petitioner, former women officers continued to be referred to as “ex-service man” and “exservice men” in government policies and schemes. “This not only results in mis-gendering but also sounds outdated and promotes gender stereotypes,” the petitioner submitted. The plea stated, “While much progress has been made in opening up military roles for women, the continued use of gendered language remains a significant, yet easy to remove, stumbling block, to a more inclusive environment in the defence services.”
The petitioner argued that she obviously is not a man, and is a woman, hence there should be no occasion to call the petitioner or any other woman officer an exserviceman. The petitioner has also submitted that gender equality is not just about employing more women but understanding how gender operates at various levels, including using gender-inclusive language. The petition also lists the gender-inclusive language employed by various militaries and establishments globally, including Parliament and Nato.
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