Plea for gender neutral term to replace ‘ex-serviceman’: High Court seeks government’s comments

Vijay Mohan

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Chandigarh, November 24

In a development of much significance to all women personnel of the ArmedForces, a plea has been raised before the Punjab and Haryana High Court seeking to replace the term “Ex-serviceman” with a gender neutral and gender inclusive alternative.

Taking up a petition filed by Captain Sukhjit Pal Kaur Sanewal (retd), one of the earliest woman officers of the Indian Army, a division bench comprising Justice Ritu Bahri, the Acting Chief Justice, and Justice Nidhi Gupta has sought comments from the Central Government.

The petitioner has sought directions that the term “Ex- Service Man” should be replaced by gender-neutral and gender-inclusive terms such as “Ex-Service Members” or “Ex-Service Personnel”.

She has pointed out that while women were always a part of the Army as nurses and doctors, they have also been serving in other arms and services since 1990s and are now even holding command appointments after judgments to this effect by the High Courts and the Supreme Court, yet former women officers continued to be referred as “Ex-serviceman” and “Ex-servicemen” in government policies and schemes.

“This not only results in mis-gendering but also sounds outdated and promotes gender stereotypes,” the petitioner averred.

“While much progress has been made in opening up military roles for women, the continued use of gendered language remains a significant, yet easy to remove stumbling block, to a more inclusive environment in the defence services,” the she said.

The Petitioner has submitted that she “obviously is not a man, and is a woman, hence there should be no occasion to call her or any other woman officer an Ex-serviceman”.

She also submitted that gender equality is not just about employing more women but understanding how gender operates at various levels, including using gender-inclusive language.

She also listed out the gender-inclusive language employed by various militaries and government establishments globally, including the Parliament of India and NATO.