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ADVANCES
:: At Quaid's Mazar Change of guard with a difference ::
For the first time Pakistan was a spectator to eight lady cadets marching side by side with gentlemen cadets of the Pakistan Military Academy, while mounting the ceremonial guard at the Mazar-e-Quaid
Muhammad Ali
History was made when the first ever smartly-turned out contingent of the selected lady cadets from the Pakistan Military Academy Kakul took over the command of Quaid’s mausoleum in Karachi on 25th December 2006, the 130th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation. It was for the first time in Pakistan that eight lady cadets marched side by side with gentlemen cadets of the Pakistan Military Academy, while mounting the ceremonial guard at the Mazar-e-Quaid. The grand edifice of the mausoleum had never before witnessed such a unique display of loyalty, mettle and passion. Neither had the media ever before captured glimpses of the most smartly turned-out lady cadets, carrying rifles and swords.
Wearing starched military uniforms and green berets with prominent hackle plumes, they presented their reverence to the memory of Muhammad Ali Jinnah in a purely military manner. Millions of Pakistanis’ not only observed this alert and vigilant guard live on their television sets, but also saw the next days’ papers which carried, this coverage with apt illustrations on their front pages. This diminutive exposure of a small contingent of lady cadets brought the house down by the immense applause and admiration that the whole nation had to offer them. They had just added an incomparably magnificent feather in their already opulently decorated caps.
For the first time in history, coincidentally though, President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, made it a point to visit the Quaid’s Mausoleum together to offer fateha and lay floral wreaths. Seizing the opportunity to address the contingent of Pakistan Military Academy, they acknowledged the immaculate turnout and high standard of the military parade. Both of them admired the ceremonial guard of Pakistan Military Academy, and keenly met the contingent of lady cadets to extend their unequivocal appreciation. Both the leaders congratulated them for having taken the initiative for joining the Army and expressed their unflinching faith in the immense potentials and vast talents of Pakistani women. They also promised to offer equal opportunities to all citizens of Pakistan irrespective of their gender, faith, race or ethnic background. They were extremely pleased to learn that the first batch of ladies had representation from all parts of the country including FATA, and that they hailed from urban as well as rural backgrounds, though with a natural predominance of the former.
The lady cadets stood there alertly with rifles and swords in their hands listening to those reformist leaders, not even realizing the great service they had done to the generally oppressed cadre of the nation, by inaugurating the newest avenues of opportunity.
The whole Pakistani nation was emphatically unanimous in offering their appreciation to these brave ladies who had acquired so much in so little time. Most people remembered the photograph published in many national dailies in which the same girls were captured while entering the gates of Pakistan Military Academy just six weeks ago. Many of them were like the ordinary traditional girls; walking modestly, intimidated from the new environs and nervous about the new horizons they were setting out on. But on 25th December, the nation could observe a phenomenal transformation in their personalities, when they stood on guard, glowing with confidence while staring the world right in the face, as seasoned soldiers.
This is not the destination, they were told, this is merely the first step towards the destination which is awaiting them beyond the constellations of shining stars. Pakistan Military Academy has already set out to accomplish this journey or a thousand miles by taking the first step in crystallizing this national goal.
It is understood that women are approximately half of Pakistan’s population. But their involvement in nation-building tasks had remained limited over the time. They have been traditionally discouraged from taking part in all types of jobs other than just a few like teaching and medicine. This disapproval remained predominantly applicable to our Armed Forces where the participation of women had been considered next to impossible. Only the medical branches of the three Services were magnanimous enough to have grasped the worthy potential of women as doctors or nurses long ago. Nonetheless, the participation of women in all other fields has been a controversial question in the three Services.
President Musharraf felt the need to integrate more women in other fields of the Armed Forces. Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force took a lead in offering commission to women as officers enabling them to join various branches of their services. It started with the technical arms wherein women were inducted as engineers, but Pakistan Air Force made a giant leap by allowing them to join the service as General Duty Pilots. They have adequately justified themselves to be not only equal to the job, but some even outshone their male counterparts. Flying Officer Saira Amin Khan documented history by winning the Sword of Honor from Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur, proving to be the best among all male and female cadets of her batch.
This time Pakistan Army has recorded an epoch-making event when it announced it would induct women in active command positions. It is now clearly understood that there are no limitations for women even in the Armed Forces, and that the concept of ‘equal opportunities’ has been made fully applicable. They are very much in the field, undergoing the rigorous training in the Pakistan Military Academy.
These women have established a unique identity for themselves and they stand on a higher and much honored pedestal. They view the world with a new angle and indeed, the whole world views them differently. Although well-educated and some coming from highly cultured backgrounds, they have now discovered that ‘there is many a universe beyond the constellations’, and like the beloved youth of Allama Iqbal they would be fully justified in trying to ‘harness even the stars’.
After training, this first batch of Lady Cadets is all set to participate in-the elegant Passing-out Parade, marking their graduation from this prestigious training institution. As they pass out of PMA, they will be bequeathed the President’s Commission, and appointed directly as Captains in the Army. They will not only start a new career in their own lives but will blaze a pioneering trail for other talented and brilliantly gifted women of the nation to follow their footsteps.
Having learnt their ropes in military education themselves, they will also form the nucleus of the best available instructional staff for subsequent grooming of other young females waiting to succeed them in this field. The future vision of Pakistan Army is growing clearer and is becoming dazzlingly brighter. Initiating a new epoch for emancipation of women, the lady cadets of PMA have broken ground in enhancing opportunities for women in all other spheres as well.
Pakistan Army has already produced a phenomenal number of brilliant shining stars, who have devoted their heart and soul in the service of their country. The nation today is optimistically focused on the new induction of lady officers in the Army to follow suit.
:: Women of mettle ::
Mr Jinnah's dream is becoming a reality that women will have an equal instrumental role to play in the progress and development of the country
Women have always shone brightly on the horizons of nations. Great leaders, thinkers and philosophers have frequently equated the quality and purity of women with the greatness of nations. Good mothers have invariably borne great nations. We should realise that Islam granted revolutionary rights to women almost 15 centuries ago, placing them on a high pedestal of nobility and throughout the history of the Muslim Era in the subcontinent again and again we come across women who have risen to eminence.
Women make up approximately half of Pakistan’s population. However, their involvement in most nation-building tasks has remained limited. Due to social, cultural and unfounded religious taboos, they have been traditionally discouraged from taking part in all types of jobs, barring just a few like teaching and medicine. Thus, for women to join the main Corps of our Armed Forces was out of the question, though of course they did join as doctors and nurses.
Only in the recent past, President Musharraf felt the need to integrate more women in all spheres of life, including the Armed Forces. Pakistan Navy and Pakistan Air Force took a lead in offering commission to women as officers enabling them to join various branches of their services, like the technical side, wherein women were inducted as engineers. Then the Pakistan Air Force took a bold decision by allowing them to join the service as General Duty Pilots. They have admirably justified themselves to be not only equal to the job, but some even outshone their male counterparts. The nation is proud of Flying Officer Saira Amin Khan’s performance of winning the Sword of Honor from Pakistan Air Force Academy, Risalpur.
Then the Pakistan Army also recorded an epoch-making event when Brig. Shahida Malik of the Army Medical Corps was promoted to the coveted rank of Major General, becoming the first-ever lady to have reached such a high position. Since then it has been acknowledged that there are no limitations for women even in the Armed Forces, and that the concept of ‘equal opportunities’ has now been made fully applicable.
Pakistan army has worked methodically at various levels to finalise the modalities through which a viable, feasible and an all-encompassing arrangement can be instituted to induct women. This painstakingly exhaustive system embraced the methods through which selection, training, grooming and subsequently absorbing the female officers in the military establishment could be accomplished. Women were invited to join the Army in all fields as Commissioned Officers. Those who had completed graduation or post-graduation were eligible to apply through the Army Selection and Recruitment Centres in all major cities. Applications from females were accepted and preliminary suitability tests, including written test, interview, psychological test, personality assessment, etc., were conducted. Comprehensive interviews were held by a broad panel of experts from the GHQ visiting all the centres one by one. Afterwards, clinical fitness was ascertained through medical examinations at the Combined Military Hospitals, The final selection was concluded after a comprehensive analysis of their overall performance. The GHQ invited successful candidates to report to Pakistan Military Academy (PMA), Kakul for a six months’ training course.
At PMA, the first ever Ladies Integrated Course was selected with utmost deliberation to suit the subtle requirements of the females batch. A lady officer from the Army Medical Corps was also incorporated to develop better understanding and resolve the problems of Lady Cadets. The focus remained on imparting objective basic military training with a view to converting raw minds into professional military officers. AFPGMI (Armed Forces Post Graduate Medical Institute) having decades of experience in training lady doctors before commissioning, has declared the efforts of PMA unparalleled in managing the new intake of ladies. In the words of Brig. Gul-e-Rana, Course Director of AFPGMI, “The PMA has evolved an immaculate and unsurpassable system in minimum possible time, which is sure to imprint an everlasting influence on the personality of the new ladies.”
Women joining the first-ever batch in Kakul Academy have already earned high regard of their trainers by their prompt learning of all military virtues. They are participating in a multitude of activities like physical training, assault (obstacle) courses, drill parades, orienteering exercises, running combat fitness reaction courses and tactical field platoon actions, besides learning the academic lessons of military law, map reading and air-photo reading, communication skills, administrative and organisational skills. They train on the firing ranges and are given full lessons in tactics and strategy. They are being groomed to take charge of their offices and assume the responsibility of their subordinates, in a mature military way. These are the ladies who are courageous enough to conquer the heights of mountains, tough enough to weather arid deserts and subtle enough to plumb the depths of oceans. :
After passing out all the lady cadets will join various arms of the forces depending on their educational background. Those acquiring degrees in law —- LLB or LLM —- will be offered vacancies in the Judge Advocate General” (JAG); those qualified in linguistics will be inducted in the Army Education Corps; the Signals Corps will accommodate those ladies who hold degrees in Information Technology (IT) or Computer Sciences, and the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) would be open to those who have obtained certifications in Mass Communication or International Relations.
A wide array of fields has been opened to these ladies while keeping in mind their disciplines of qualification and degree of education. They will not be required to operate in the field environments like their male counterparts, but they would perform their duty primarily in desk jobs. For this purpose, vacancies will be allotted to them in static installations and headquarters at various levels. By virtue of their key positions, their output ranging from instruction, staff work or decision making would be felt soon. There could be no better recognition of their education and intelligence on one hand; and zeal and enthusiasm on the other. Undoubtedly, this is the finest and most promising reception any organisation could ever offer to these young ladies, right at the outset of their professional careers.
This is a milestone accomplishment in achieving the manifestation of the Quaid’s dream wherein he visualized in 1942, “I can see Pakistan as a modern Islamic state in which women will have an equally instrumental role to play in the progress and development of the country.”
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