RANCHI: The greatest joy that citizens of any nation can have is when one represents the country internationally -- be it in sports, culture, economy or diplomacy. This pride is shared by many women in all spheres, including diplomacy, where the country looks forward to playing its role in shaping the new world order with a dedicated cadre — the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
As India celebrates its 77th Independence Day, it is only apt to shed light on the role played by IFS women officers, who are becoming the face of the nation.
Today, women IFS officers serve across the globe in all kinds of environments and organizations. Be it in the delicate neighbourhood or the ever-challenging West Asia, significant trading partner nations, the Permanent Five Members of the United Nations, the vast Africa, the European Union, Latin America or the shores of the Indian Ocean -- one will find Indian women career diplomats engaged in the art of diplomacy. Not long ago, during the Covid pandemic, women officers contributed significantly to the Vande Bharat Mission which evacuated thousands of Indians in distress and most recently during the Ukrainian crisis and the associated ‘Operation Ganga’, when over 20,000 students were evacuated within a fortnight. There is no limit to what these sincere and dedicated women officers have achieved, including challenging assignments in conflict and difficult zones. Currently, many divisions in the Ministry of External Affairs are headed by women officers, including in the neighbourhood, North America and the Indian ocean region etc. The 21st century itself has witnessed three female foreign secretaries of India out of the 12 so far, a whopping 25%. A 2021 data showed that women officers constituted over 18% of the strength of the IFS which is one of the highest in the world.
The India of today is more confident and articulate in its international dealings and so are its women. Gone are the days when only females at an Embassy function would be the spouses of the Ambassador or other officers.
Now, many women diplomats have held and continue to hold the reins of India’s interest in neighbouring countries like China, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Mauritius. In 2022, India even appointed its first-ever woman permanent representative to the United Nations in New York. An index called ‘Women in Diplomacy: 2022’ released by the Anwar Gargash Diplomatic Academy of the UAE, India ranked 26th in a list of 40 countries and the EU, with 16.9% of the ambassadorial positions in its missions held by women.
Any discussion on Indian women career diplomats would be incomplete without the mention of its torchbearers. It is not that the IFS has been conducive and gender-neutral from the beginning. It was C B Muthamma, the first Indian woman to clear the Civil Service Examinations in 1948, who chose to join the IFS and fought the discriminatory practices against women career diplomats prevalent at that time like the requirement to seek permission from the Government before getting married and dismissal from service if it was deemed that family duties came in the way of discharging her duties. Over the last 76 years, the IFS has evolved into a more gender-neutral workplace and many women have pursued a career in diplomacy as their first choice of service.
(The author is an IFS Officer and Regional Passport Officer, Jharkhand. The views expressed are of the author)
