Two women officers of the armed forces who represent different generations explained the leaps and bounds in the services and the generational progress that has taken place. At the NDTV Defence Summit 2025, Vice Admiral Arti Sarin, the Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services, and Colonel Anshu Jamwal, Commanding Officer, Indian Army, shared insights into a range of topics linked to women in the armed forces including challenges, highs and lows, and even their role in operations.
On how the armed forces have evolved and made it possible and aspirational for women to join them, Vice Admiral Arti Sarin said she is from the Armed Forces Medical Services which began as early as 1953, and they have had women leaders.
"The first lady General, the first Two Stars, was in 1987 who commanded Command Hospital Lucknow, followed by two Three Stars in 2007. So they paved the path for us. I joined in 1987. I saw changes then. I did not find any difference in the treatment of me or my fellow interns when I was doing my internship or when I went to join the army and when I went forward to do my courses or any other thing," Vice Admiral Arti Sarin said.
She said everything was based on meritocracy and it was gender-neutral.
"How well you do in your academics and how well you are marked. So it is absolutely, I would say, gender-just and gender-neutral. In 1998, the government allowed women in other arms and services... There was further progress. Women started joining NDA over the years. They started getting Permanent Commission. And now they have a whole lot of representation, whole new roles, leadership roles. As you can see, she's commanding a unit. I'm extremely proud of her, this young lady here. So she represents the next generation who are the non-medical officers who have joined the armed forces as women," Vice Admiral Sarin said, referring to the much younger Colonel Jamwal.
Recalling her experience, Colonel Jamwal - who joined the Corps of Army Air Defence in 2006 - said she was the first woman officer in her unit when she got commissioned.
"When I joined, I think there were apprehensions on both fronts, men also and me also I realised. But once they know what you are capable of doing, they ultimately recognise you and then when you put that lens of gender aside, it becomes smooth. It becomes a home. My unit since then has been a second home for me," Colonel Jamwal said.
She said some challenges do exist, sometimes in terms of physical standards and juggling home and professional fronts.
"But I believe that the army bakes up the genes in you to take on challenges, be it the battlefield or in any facet of life. I have been surviving and thriving and I wish to continue doing so," she said.
Sharing her work-life balance experience in the service, Vice Admiral Sarin said she was fortunate due to having a lot of family support.
"But one moment was very daunting when I was suddenly asked to go to the [Kashmir] valley. My son was three years old. I had to leave him behind in Mumbai and my parents had to come down to look after him. I was away for three and a half months. You could speak only once a week... We were there to look after the civilian population at that point in 1998. So that was daunting, but it's basically daunting because you're in a very forward area," Vice Admiral Sarin said.
"We found a way of getting over it. I had support. The armed forces family is the greatest support. Your unit supports you. There were people from my department who would handle my family, the problems that I had. My parents were there. People would check on them. So we get by with a little help from our friends and colleagues from the armed forces family," she said.
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