Women turn up in large numbers

Ranjit Thakur

Jammu, November 22

Defying the gender barriers, hundreds of women aspirants on Friday lined up in the Border Security Force’s (BSF) recruitment drive in Jammu. The BSF is holding its first recruitment drive in J&K and Ladakh after the creation of two Union Territories. As many as, 50,000 aspirants applied online for 1,356 constable posts. In all, there are 172 posts for women.

A senior official said, “Seeing the number of women aspirants willing to serve the nation is beyond our expectation and is overwhelming. However, they need to work more on their physical strength to get through the recruitment process. We have great expectations from them.”

Neha, an aspirant, said, “It’s my childhood dream to join the Border Security Force. My parents have supported my decision. I want girls to be treated equally, as they have proved themselves time and again in almost every sphere.”

“I am an NCC cadet and have been practicing hard to get through the recruitment process. It’s my dream. I have cleared my running and I am hopeful about my selection,” another female aspirant said.

The Border Security Force started their recruitment process on November 16 and it will continue till November 22 in different parts of newly-created UT’s — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. The candidates will be selected on the basis of a written exam, a Physical Standard Test (PST) and a Physical Efficiency Test (PET).