Women officers seek clarity on med fitness rules

NEW DELHI: A group of women officers in the Army have sought clarity on medical fitness rules that would apply to them to become eligible for permanent commission in non-combat branches, reports Rohan Dua.
In a letter to the office of military secretary branch of Army on July 18, a section of women officers have sought clarity on whether existing medical category rules would apply to them or new ones would be laid out.
According to current rules, cadets are granted permanent commission subject to being medically fit in “SHAPE-1” category. The SHAPE-1category stands for psychiatric (S), hearing (H), appendages (A), physiological problems (P) and eye (E).
Some women officers, however, said that over the years and with advancing age they might have developed minor illnesses which could make them ineligible for SHAPE-1 category. Of 611 women officers eligible for permanent commission, at least 200 are over the age of 40. “The standards that officers need to meet at 30 years of age have to be different than those for someone who is now between 40 and 45,” a senior Lt Colonel-rank official told TOI.