"We can do without lady officers," said Army Vice Chief Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman, in the wake of Lt Sushmita Chakarvorty's suicide last week. Lt Chakravorty shot herself at her posting in the Northern Command headquarters in Udhampur.
Speaking to the press after the incident, the senior officer said, "Ideally we would like to have gentlemen and not lady officers at the unit level. Feedback from lower formations suggests that comfort levels with lady officers are low. We can do without them."
While the Bharatiya Janata Party asked for his suspension, the National Commission for Women asked for more gender sensitisation in the Armed Forces.
Four days after he made the controversial statement, Lt Gen S Pattabhiraman tendered an apology, stating that he has a 'personal commitment and healthy respect towards the role of lady officers in the Army'.
Photograph: Saab Pictures
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