First woman military diplomat in Indian mission abroad

New Delhi, Sep 17 (IANS) Wing Commander Anjali Singh has become the first female officer from any of the armed forces of India to be posted as a military diplomat in an Indian mission abroad.

Singh joined the Indian Embassy in Moscow on September 10 as Deputy Air Attache.

"Wing Commander Anjali Singh joined @IndEmbMoscow on 10th Sep as the Deputy Air Attache. She enjoys the distinction of being the first female Indian Armed Forces Officer to be posted as a military diplomat in any of the Indian missions abroad," the Indian Embassy in Moscow tweeted on Monday.

Singh is from the aeronautical engineering branch of the Indian Air Force (IAF). The IAF had earlier also chosen three female officers as fighter pilots thereby becoming the first service to induct women in combat roles.

A defence ministry official said defence attaches from any of the three services, the Army, the Indian Air Force or the Indian Navy, had always been male officers till the appointment of Wing Commander Singh at the Indian embassy in Moscow, Russia. The role of a defence attache is to assist in cooperation, training and procurement in the field of defence between the country she represents and the country in which she is posted.

The Indian Navy is also identifying women officers for appointment in the country's overseas missions.

Representation of women in the armed forces in India has always been low. As per data available with the government, only 3.8 per cent of the Army's personnel comprise women. The IAF has the highest representation of women in the workforce at 13.09 per cent. In Indian Navy, the percentage of women personnel is 6 per cent.