Following a Supreme Court decision of 17 February 2020 that gave women officials the power to enter the men’s commission, Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh wrote on Twitter that he supported the decision. This landmark decision was a step in the right direction to end the tense struggle of female military officers against “sexist ideologies based on socially perceived gender roles that discriminate against women.”
The Supreme Court had ruled that, “70 years after the birth of the post-colonial autonomy, there is still a need for a change in attitudes and ideals in order to realize a constitutional commitment.”Now, the departments of the National Defense Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla and the Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC), Dehradun have been opened to women, following the intervention of the Supreme Court.
A change in thinking and thinking will be called for soon as a written application, filed by the Indian Professional Nurses Association (IPNA) against the Union of India, awaits the Supreme Court of Delhi, seeking the appointment of male Nursing Military Nursing Services (MNS).“It is very old, not very different.
How can you have a whole branch of nurses except men, especially in the Army?
The two-judge panel of the Supreme Court of Delhi as saying on May 29, 2018.During a subsequent hearing, in October 2018, the court noted, “Sexual discrimination, in other ways,” only. The MNS, which provides medical care to hospital soldiers and their dependents in both places of peace and arena, traces its origins back to 1888, when the ‘Army Nursing Service’ was formed. This later became the ‘Indian Army Nurses’ Service and later, the ‘military service of Queen Alexandra’. MNS celebrates its Growth Day on October 1, commemorating the formation of the Indian Army Nursing Service on this day in 1926. Since 1888, it has been a ministry for all women.
In the United States, the Army Nurse Corps has been in existence since 1901, but it was not until 1955 that men were allowed to join the Nursing Corps. The British Army has the Queen of Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) and men have only been allowed to join QARANC since 1992.So, now there is an example for men to serve in the military nursing profession in democratic regimes.
Demanding Equality
Men have just started working as a nurse in India. In a 2021 paper published in the journal, Human Resources for Health, Karan A. Negandhi et al., found that only 20.15% of Indian nurses are male. Male nurses, although one-fifth of all working nurses, struggle with gender stereotypes that women are the only ones who fit the job. An in-depth report by Mumbai-based journalist Aarefa Johari, entitled The One Profession Where Men are Demanding Equality, highlights the stigma attached to male nurses, both in the workplace and in society.
To join the MNS, a candidate must undertake a four-year Bachelor of Science (Nursing) course offered at the Military Medical Nursing Colleges (AFMS).Currently, only women are eligible to apply. Candidates must be single, divorced, legally divorced or widowed without ‘restriction’. They must also be citizens of India, aged between 17 and 25. Only those who passed 10 + 2 or similar tests in their first attempt at Physics, Chemistry, Biology (Botany & Zoology) and no less than 50 English. % marks are combined as ordinary students from the accreditation board or institution are eligible to apply.
The first phase of the selection process involves the shortlisting of NEET (UG) schools. Shortlisted candidates should take a computer-based Test of General Intelligence and General English (ToGlGE), which includes answering 40 multiple choice questions in 30 minutes. This is followed by the Psychological Assessment Test (PAT), the competency test, the available marks can be calculated in the preparation of the eligibility list. The candidates are then consulted with the Board of Directors and, finally, should be declared medically fit by the Special Medical Board, operated by AFMS.
Before joining the B.Sc (Nursing) studies., nominees are required to sign a bond in order to work on MNS. During the training they are provided with a free allowance, accommodation, uniform allowance and a monthly stipend. Upon successful completion, candidates will be given a commission on the MNS. None of the above qualifications can be withheld from men to disqualify them from B.Sc (Nursing) studies.
What awaits Indian men who wish to join the MNS?
The next day of the trial by IPNA was postponed to October 13, 2022. Hopefully, even before the courts are thrown out, the Union government will reconsider its policy and make the necessary changes to allow men to join the MNS, meanwhile, applications for women to participate in B.Sc (Nursing) studies, which begins in 2022 at the Directorate General of Medical Services (DGMS), Joint Department of Defense (Army) headquarters, has been summoned, the last day which is 31 May 2022.
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