By M S Nazki
They move like a butterfly and sting like a bumble bee!
-They have been trained to fight and are experts especially in the insurgency affected areas!
-Yes we are talking about the women operating in the insurgency affected areas!
-Army officials in Kashmir have now got vital support in conducting security-related operations with women soldiers from the Assam Rifles assisting the troops in maintaining peace in the Valley.
-The Assam Riflewomen have been deployed in some areas of Kashmir where they help the male soldiers in frisking women and children at motor-vehicle checkpoints, officials said.
-They also help in house to house searches during cordon and search operations, they said.
-But more than their primary role, these riflewomen are happy, shattering the myths around Kashmir and inspiring local girls to dream bigger and aim higher in life.
-Riflewoman Rekha Kumari, from Vardhman District of West Bengal, has served in Manipur and Nagaland before arriving in the valley.
-‘There are apprehensions and fears about coming to Kashmir but then we are here in the service of the nation. Also, there is too much myth around Kashmir. People here are nice and we feel good while interacting with them, Ms. Kumari said.
-She said while being part of the search operations, the riflewomen present the soft side of the armed personnel to the local populace.
-‘We are women and have to deal with womenfolk. So we start from that common ground. We have to be humane so that the local women repose their trust in us…We are here to serve them,’ Ms Kumari said.
-Riflewoman Rupali Dhangar, a native of Maharashtra, is more into tough soldiering.
-We do all the duties that male soldiers do. We guard the gate, we man the bunkers, we go into cordon and search operations. There is no fear. This is part of our duty,’ she said.
-Both rifle women are happy that local girls look up to them for inspiration.
-‘Many girls want to be like us. It is not necessary they also become soldiers, let them follow their dreams, let them aim higher than the highest they thought they could go,’ Ms Dhangar said.
-The Assam Rifles women were initially deployed in Kupwara district to check the rising drug trafficking. The male officials in the army were finding it difficult to frisk the women suspects moving close to areas along the Line of control, a senior official said.
-The induction of riflewomen has helped the security forces to check the smuggling of drugs from across the LoC, he added.
-More features:
-An integral women cadre was instituted in the Assam Rifles (AR) in 2013. Since then, Riflewomen (Rfw), as they are designated, are working hand in hand with their Riflemen (Rm) comrades on every front, braving the inhospitable and harsh terrain and all operational challenges in remote locations of the North East.
-The employment of Riflewomen in Kashmir has fulfilled a longstanding requirement of women combatants in many situations of CI/CT operations in Kashmir Valley.
-After validating their professional acumen in the counter insurgency/ counter terrorist (CI/CT) environment of the North East, it was decided that AR Riflewomen were to be deployed in Kashmir under the operational control of the Indian Army. This is indeed a matter of great pride for the entire fraternity of Assam Rifles.
-Notwithstanding all inhibitions related to their employment philosophy, AR Riflewomen underwent challenging four weeks of training at the Corps Battle School, Khreuh (J&K), before getting deployed in the intense CI/CT environment in Kashmir Valley.
-The employment of Riflewomen in Kashmir has fulfilled a longstanding requirement of women combatants in many situations of CI/CT operations in Kashmir Valley. Often, women among the local population need to be dealt with. While women have been used by some terrorist groups as terrorists, in the Valley, terrorists have used women as couriers for illicit smuggling or moving of arms and ammunition or for supportive over-ground activities. There are instances when women of the civil population have to be frisked or interacted with for investigation, or when women need medical treatment.
-Availability of women as security forces personnel has been a major hurdle for the Army in combating terrorism, as policewoman of J&K Police or central armed police forces are not always available. Terrorist outfits have been taking advantage of this shortfall of women police personnel and human rights issues by using local women as scapegoats.
-The inclusion of women soldiers under command of the Army in the Valley is a most welcome step. Whenever and wherever they are deployed they will be definite assets in overcoming problems associated with dealing with women of the local populace and particularly in situations where frisking of women or questioning them for information is concerned. Frisking of women becomes necessary in an environment where they have been used/forced by terrorists to transport weapons.
-While terrorist groups in the North East have been known to include women in actual fighting and other supportive roles, in Jammu and Kashmir, the Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) is an all-women outfit which can be categorised as soft-terrorist, in the sense that it uses extra-legal means, including threats, to impose its doctrines but has not taken to arms so far. During the 1990’s, DeM was active in organising protests against Kashmiri women who did not adhere to wearing the burqa (veil) as ‘decreed’ by it.
-In May 1993, the DeM issued warnings to the women in Srinagar not to venture outside their houses without wearing the burqa. It also organised protests against the alleged display of objectionable literature in Jammu and Kashmir. Another issue that the outfit periodically raised is alleged excess of security forces conducting counter-insurgency operations in the State. It regularly cooperated with the All Party Hurriyat Conference in organising protest demonstrations on this issue and was also active in radicalisation of youth.
-Availability of women as security forces personnel has been a major hurdle for the Army in combating terrorism, as policewoman of J&K Police or central armed police forces are not always available.
-So far, there are only a few Riflewomen integral to a battalion of Assam Rifles deployed in the Valley, but deputed to Army for being included in CI/CT operations. However, with their professional and humane approach, they have made a positive impact on the local populace wherever they have been deployed. Their deployment in the Valley is a good beginning but there need to be many more of them in number and deployed all over the affected areas of Jammu and Kashmir. All battalions of AR in the North East which have women personnel on their rolls have certainly benefited.
-While there have been women officers in the Army, Navy and Air Force since 1992, the Army recently began the entry of women soldiers in its Corps of Military Police.
‘They are humming birds but with eyes of a Condor’!
-Be it border guarding duties, crackdown on drug smuggling and deployment near the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir to assist the Indian Army to check infiltration, women in Assam Rifles are as efficient as their male counterparts.
– “There is no difference in the duties assigned to women. Treat them like equals and they do a job as good as any man,” says an officer from Assam Rifles.
-There are currently 200 women in Assam Rifles, the oldest paramilitary force raised in 1835. The force celebrates its 186th Raising Day.
-Jagriti, who belongs to Gujarat, has also served at the Line of Control in a place called Pharkian Gali in North Kashmir, notorious for terrorist infiltration from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The Assam Rifles women have been deployed here at vehicle check posts and for patrol duties in the area.
-Like Jagriti, there are others who have served in hostile areas alongside men carrying out the same task.
-Jagriti is part of 3 Assam Rifles currently at the India-Myanmar border in Mizoram and hails from Aravalli district of Gujarat. Her battalion has 16 women, assigned in different duties.
-“I have completed four years of service. Earlier, I was deployed in Nagaland and Jammu and Kashmir, and took part in counter-insurgency operations. Throughout my childhood, I saw my uncle in uniform. From then on, I always wanted to join the forces. It was my dream. Now after joining, I feel proud to be part of the force,” she said.
-Women have played a stellar role in drug hauls at the Indo-Myanmar borders.
-Drug seizures by Assam Rifles have gone up and women have been part of these operations. “One of the reasons for drug seizures increasing is that women personnel have been deployed to check and apprehend women couriers,” said an official.
-Riflewoman Lucy Ramtharmawi from Manipur’s Churachandpur district knows the terrain on the Indo-Myanmar border well and has been part of operations to hunt down drug smugglers.
-She was selected in 2017 and has been part of patrolling at forward locations. “I was inspired to wear the uniform after seeing people living close to my native place joining the forces.
-She has been deployed at mobile vehicles check posts where she checks local female suspects involved in contraband smuggling.
-Similarly, Sophie Vanlalhmangaihi from Mizoram has served at the LoC in Kashmir. She was part of deployments to check smuggling of narcotics, fake currency and weapons at Sadhna Pass in Jammu and Kashmir near the LoC.
-“I was told that I have to go to Kashmir along with other troops. I was happy to serve the country. We were carrying out checks along with other troops. Our focus was to check women suspects engaged in smuggling,” Sophie said.
-Both Lucy and Sophie are part of 46 Assam Rifles in Aizawl. Being daughters of the soil from the Northeast, they are helping young women aspirants prepare to join the force. They are an inspiration for many young women who want to join Assam Rifles. The duo trains several women who come for pre-recruitment training programmes arranged by Assam Rifles.
They are absolutely fantastic as they operate as men do and are willing to take on any role! They have proved their worth and more are willing to do so!
