In A Historic First, Two Women Combat Aviators Will Be Deployed On An Indian Navy Warship. This Is A Landmark Moment
“That’s a man’s job”, “This is no place for a woman”, “Did you mistake this for your kitchen?”, ” These are the kind of misogynistic and rather frequently remarks that almost every woman has once been subjected to. Be it when you wanted to trade those ballet shoes for football sneakers or when you rightfully asked for your promotion but lost it to a less deserving male colleague, misogyny is all pervasive. But it’s not like we are taking it sitting down, now history is being made as two women are being deployed as combat aviators on Indian Navy warships.
Breaking past the confines of the four walls of a house, women are now spreading their wings open to scale newer heights. From claiming a seat at the top managerial positions to protecting the honour of the country at the borders, we’ve proved that there is no work that we aren’t cut out for. And proving to us just the same, are these two brilliant officers of the Indian navy, who have become the first women in the history to be deployed on navy warships to be women combat aviators.
Sub Lieutenant Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh have written a proud page in the history, as they are redefining the gender equality in the Indian Navy, by ascending to the position of becoming the first women to be posted on Indian Navy warship in the roles of combat aviators.
Yes, women had been claiming positions in the Navy in various ranks and were even seen promoting to important positions like that of lieutenant general and vice admiral, but never was one placed on a warship before. And changing the course of history were these two women, who have been training to operate a host of sensors onboard navy multi-role helicopters, including sonar consoles and Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) payloads, for a while now.
I congratulate Sub Lt Kumudini Tyagi and Sub Lt Riti Singh for becoming the first women airborne combatants in the Indian Navy who will operate helicopters onboard warships. May you soar to greater heights. So proud of your achievement. pic.twitter.com/K1omPZ4cLv
— Bhupender Yadav (@byadavbjp) September 21, 2020
Also Read : Jane Fraser Has Been Appointed The First Female CEO Of CitiBank. Here’s To Her Breaking Wall Street’s Glass Ceilings Like A Boss!
Their role, as per their new deployment would be to ultimately fly on the navy’s new MH-60 R helicopters, to further observe and calculate the threat and designate the target. Sub Lieutenant Riti Singh said, “Things are changing in the Indian Navy every day. The navy is giving everybody an opportunity every day. Yes, we’re breaking barriers every day but there are a lot of opportunities coming up every day. Whatever role the Indian Navy gives us, we will gladly take them.”
Further talking about how the two have earned their spot in this new positions, that of women combat aviators, Singh went on to give due credit to their training and said, “Our training has been really rigorous. We’ve both completed over 60 hours of training…. We take pressure and tension bang on. We don’t get worked up.” If that isn’t the spirit of the modern day woman, then we don’t know what is.
It is a matter of immense pride of the nation that
Sub Lieutenant (SLt) Kumudini Tyagi and SLt Riti Singh would, in effect, be the first set of women officers to operate helicopters from Indian Navy warships.
Yet another glass ceiling shattered. Proud of our Armed Forces🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/rpg3WOgNFN
— All India Mahila Congress (@MahilaCongress) September 21, 2020
Meanwhile, Sub Lieutenant Tyagi shared, “We’ve been treated equally… Whatever training our male counterparts received, we went through the same training… It is a huge responsibility, the task is challenge. We are looking forward to it.” The two were awarded with golden wings along with other officers of the 22nd Short Service Course in a ceremony at the Southern Naval Command in Kochi on Monday.
It is interesting to note that this has not happened till now because facilities for our gender weren’t available. There wasn’t any privacy and bathrooms for women haven’t been made.
The news spreads across the nation as yet another win for womankind, and we are thrilled to see women like Tyagi and Singh, grow to their fuller potential, to show the world that we aren’t just as good as men were, we might just be better.
