How Col Sofiya Qureshi's feats led to a landmark SC verdict on women officers

The Supreme Court in 2020 acknowledged the achievements of Colonel Sofiya Qureshi, one of the two women officers who briefed the media on ‘Operation Sindoor’ on Wednesday, as an exemplary instance when ruling in favour of granting Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Indian Army.

In its February 17, 2020 judgement, the top court said that the absolute exclusion of women from all positions, except staff assignments, in the Army was indefensible and their blanket non-consideration for command appointments without any justification cannot be sustained in law and constitution.

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The apex court, which allowed Permanent Commission (PC) to women officers in the Army, said an absolute prohibition of women Short Service Commission (SSC) officers to obtain anything but staff appointments evidently did not fulfil the purpose of granting PC as a means of career advancement in the Army.

Word of praise

The top court also referred to the several distinctions achieved by women officers, with an apt example of Colonel Qureshi's achievements.

“Lieutenant Colonel Sofiya Qureshi (Army Signal Corps) is the first woman to lead an Indian Army contingent at a multi-national military exercise named 'Exercise Force 18', which is the largest ever foreign military exercise hosted by India.”

“She served in the United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Congo in 2006, where she, along with others, was in charge of monitoring ceasefires in those countries and aiding in humanitarian activities. Her job included ensuring peace in the conflict-affected areas,” the apex court had said.

Centre’s affidavit

Taking note of the Centre’s affidavit in the matter, the court had said that the counter affidavit contained a detailed elaboration of the service rendered by women SSC officers to the cause of the nation, working shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts.

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“Yet, that role is sought to be diluted by the repeated pleas made before this court that women, by the nature of their biological composition and social milieu, have a less important role to play than their male counterparts.”

“Such a line of submission is disturbing as it ignores the solemn constitutional values that every institution in the nation is bound to uphold and facilitate. Women officers of the Indian Army have brought laurels to the force,” the apex court had said in the judgement.

Media briefing

During the media briefing on Wednesday, Col Qureshi and Wing Commander Vyomika Singh of the Indian Air Force (IAF) joined Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on the dais who delivered the opening statement from the government.

They provided the military and technical aspects of the mission, including the use of specific missiles and the significance of the bombed targets.

The briefing came hours after the Indian armed forces, under 'Operation Sindoor', carried out missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) in retaliation for the April 22 Pahalgam attack.

Early life, career

Born in Gujarat's Vadodara in 1974, Col Qureshi did her master’s in biochemistry from the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University in 1997.

An officer in the critical Corps of Signals, in the past, she had been picked for the role of a military observer in Congo in 2006, besides being part of flood relief operations in the northeast region.

Also read: Operation Sindoor aligns with UNSC call against Terrorism, says India

The officer broke the glass ceiling when in 2016, she became the first woman officer to lead its contingent at the multi-national field training exercise, ‘Exercise Force 18’, hosted by India for interoperability in sustaining peace among the ASEAN nations.