The NewSense

November 19, 2009

New Delhi: Vice chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal P K Barbora suggested that women IAF officers must delay pregnancy if they want to  become fighter pilots. According to him women officers must plan a child only after 12-14 years of service so that investment made on a fighter pilot is recovered by the Air Force. It means a husband of women officer has to invest his energy for 12-14 years to get his offspring. He feels women fighter pilots can’t be trained for show purposes and they should be utilized maximum without maternity leave of 10 months in the middle of the service. The cost involved in training single officer is around 11.5 crores and such huge investment definitely expects some returns from pilot not offspring. Very true, you can’t afford spending 11-12 crores rupees to train a women fighter just for showcase purpose and then allow her to take maternity leave for 10 months. IAF expects some return for the investment not another junior pilot after couple of years. Is not it? Though his remarks were personal not of the IAF, he was criticized for making such sexist remark towards sexiest gender and his remarks were treated as mess-talk standards. Just normal delivery of few words about women fighters being bad investment to the IAF has seized his image. It is time for women to understand that any how they are the fighter pilots in their respective house and better they should enjoy flying family rather than burdening IAF.