Should Transgenders be allowed in Indian Army?

THEY SERVE TO FIGHT,WE FIGHT TO SERVE! As our society is becoming more and more open minded, Voices in favour of Transgenders and LGBTQ communities is not new. But still, a lot has to change in our society. In this article, we are going to discuss in detail whether they should be allowed in our armed forces or not.

TRANSGENDERS IN SOCIETY

Whenever I hear of transgenders, the first thing to strike my mind is equality and the treatment this part of society receives. We all  are aware of the term transgender inequality that is the unequal or rather say ill treatment these people receive from public ,may it be school, office and even their own homes. What baffles me the most is I don’t really understand is what kind of narrow mentality people have that they fail to understand that "BEING A TRANSGENDER IS NOT A CRIMINAL OFFENCE , THEY ARE HUMAN LIKE YOU,LIKE ME ,LIKE ALL OF US WHO CONSIDER THEMSELVES STRAIGHT PHYSICALLY,MENTALLY AND SOCIALLY; THEY ALSO DESERVE THE EQUAL RESPECT". Gladly in 21st century many western countries have started adopting equal rights for the whole LGBTQ community yet we need this thing to be adopted globally.

TRANSGENDERS' FITNESS:

The who use gender incongruence to describe people whose gender identity is different from the gender they were assigned at birth.  If we take the mental aspect we all will definitely agree that on some grounds they are not mentally strong and the social cause for this is the society itself that they are living in. Its us who look at them from a weird perspective as if they are some alien."ALIEN ON THEIR OWN LAND". And of course the biological causes like testosterone and estrogen hormones that may not be complementing their body and mind properly, but as said its not their fault. Then we have physical fitness, if we just keep their gender and contradictory behavior aside for a moment , it completely depends on person to person about how much they are fit. I believe we all are unfit in some or the other way but if we work upon the way ,we all can achieve the desired destination.

TRANSGENDERS AND MILITARY SERVICES

Generally looking on these grounds, we have many western countries that do not completely ban the inclusion of LGBT into military forces like Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, Cuba and Thailand where trans military personnel serve openly.

Why Yes?

• All citizens have the right to serve their Nation when needed, and allowing transgenders in military would be a huge step towards equality.
• Militaries that exclude transgender people on grounds of mental illness, whose policies pathologize gender dysphoria, are at odds with the current medical understanding.
• By creating a more accepting environment, distress that transgender personnel feel might be mitigated if they are allowed to serve openly with full support. 
• Israeli Defense Forces, British Armed Forces, and Canadian Armed Forces found no negative impact on performance, unit cohesion or morality where trans military personnel were allowed to serve openly.

Why No?

• There are individuals who go under sex reassignment therapy, which is many of the times unsatisfying and leads to depression.
• Hormone therapies can affect mood and a healthy life style and can lead tom many diseases as well.
• Military service forces members into very intimate living quarters. Requiring members to live in situations that make them feel disconcerted and uncomfortable may result in their performance being not up to the mark.

WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE SUPREME POWER

United States of America is the largest and the most advanced military superpower in the world. The US government has clearly prohibited transgenders from serving in the military whereas there are  exceptions for the people who are serving openly or the ones who are willing to serve in their birth gender. Well that’s a bit hard to accept, No?

WHAT OUR INDIAN ARMY CHIEF HAS TO SAY ON THE TOPIC

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat said that the force will not allow homosexual "activities" or adultery because of its deeply conservative nature. General Rawat  said that the Army has its own laws regarding homosexuality when asked about the Supreme Court's historic verdict legalising gay sex.

The Supreme Court, in a historic verdict, decriminalised adultery as well. However, General Rawat said that adultery remains an offence in the Indian Army.

General Rawat said that the Indian Army is "very conservative" and that the "soldier on the border cannot be worried about his family back home.''

The same is on the LGBT [lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender] issue. In the Army we cannot accept it.Army will not allow LGBT activities in the force. We have some section in Army acts to deal with this.

We can figure out from the very statements that army has a very strict environment.

Hence, after taking a look at all the aspects, whether Transgenders should be allowed in the military or not, I feel that there are different platforms of serving the Nation in the military itself. If one is not getting a certain position in the Army, for example of a foot soldier,there are many other duties waiting…

STILL THE DECISION REMAINS A PUZZLE!

What is your opinion on this matter? Please let us know in the comments!

Hola people! I am Arya Kapoor. I am an English hons. student pursuing the course from University of Delhi. I have a keen interest in science and technology as well as I love writing, may it be contents for any social cause or current affairs etc. People who hang around with me find me singing the whole day long.