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British Gurkhas to start recruiting Nepali women
http://www.indiaenews.com/nepal/20070609/55444.htm
From correspondents in Kathmandu, Nepal, 02:30 PM IST Saturday, June 09, 2007
The British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, regarded as a symbol of male valour for tales of unswerving loyalty and fierce courage under enemy fire, is now set for a change. It will start recruiting Nepali women as well for the first time.
While the British defence ministry is still working out the details, there is growing excitement in Nepal, where dozens of young Nepali women have already signed up at 'training academies' in anticipation of recruitment.
'New terms and conditions of service were introduced on April 1 for Gurkhas serving in the British Army,' says Colonel Jeremy Ellis, the British defence attache in Nepal and commander of the Brigade of Gurkhas Nepal (BGN).
He was referring to the announcement in March by Derek Twigg, under secretary of state for defence and veterans minister, that Nepali Gurkhas in the British Army would now have broadly the same terms and conditions of service as their peers from Britain and the Commonwealth - a decision forced after a series of law suits by disgruntled Gurkha soldiers and vets.
With the changes, the Brigade of Gurkhas now comes under the purview of the Sex Discrimination Act, requiring the recruitment of women to correct imbalances.
'To comply with the UK Sex Discrimination Act legislation, Nepali women should in due course be invited to apply for recruitment,' says Ellis.
However, since the British government does not recruit women for direct combat roles, Nepali women will be hired in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, Queen's Gurkha Signals and Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment but kept out of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
London is still mulling how many Nepali women it will recruit each year. At present, there are about 3,500 male Gurkha soldiers in the brigade while about 230 are recruited to the British Army annually and a much smaller number for Singapore Police.
The recruitment of Nepali women will start with a 'pilot' project in August with about 40 volunteers, possibly aged between 18 and 21.
'The purpose of the 'pilot' is to confirm the level of capability we should expect if and when we are able to start recruiting Nepali women formally,' says Ellis.
'(However), taking part in the 'pilot' recruiting session in August will not commit either BGN or the individual young woman in any way to joining the British Army.'
Besides the pilot project, the BGN website will also put up a registration form for potential women candidates to gauge the level of interest.
'The form will be up till July 31,' says Lt Col Gavin O'Keeffe, deputy commander at BGN. 'We will work out the scale of recruitment, including building required infrastructure, from the level of interest shown. We might have thousands of applications or we may have none.'
When recruitment starts for male Gurkhas, Lt Col O'Keeffe says there are about 15,000 applications for 230 posts on an average, of who about 11,000 actually turn up.
The actual induction of Nepali women will not occur before 2010 with the recruitment starting around 2009.
Once the process starts, it remains to be seen how the male Gurkhas, the recipients of 13 Victoria Crosses, the highest award for gallantry, will regard the entry of women, especially since it is likely to reduce the number of male recruits.
'We have now 12 years of experience of working with women in the army,' Lt Col O'Keeffe laughs. 'Our legislation is mature enough to deal with any complications.'
http://www.indiaenews.com/nepal/20070609/55444.htm
From correspondents in Kathmandu, Nepal, 02:30 PM IST Saturday, June 09, 2007
The British Army's Brigade of Gurkhas, regarded as a symbol of male valour for tales of unswerving loyalty and fierce courage under enemy fire, is now set for a change. It will start recruiting Nepali women as well for the first time.
While the British defence ministry is still working out the details, there is growing excitement in Nepal, where dozens of young Nepali women have already signed up at 'training academies' in anticipation of recruitment.
'New terms and conditions of service were introduced on April 1 for Gurkhas serving in the British Army,' says Colonel Jeremy Ellis, the British defence attache in Nepal and commander of the Brigade of Gurkhas Nepal (BGN).
He was referring to the announcement in March by Derek Twigg, under secretary of state for defence and veterans minister, that Nepali Gurkhas in the British Army would now have broadly the same terms and conditions of service as their peers from Britain and the Commonwealth - a decision forced after a series of law suits by disgruntled Gurkha soldiers and vets.
With the changes, the Brigade of Gurkhas now comes under the purview of the Sex Discrimination Act, requiring the recruitment of women to correct imbalances.
'To comply with the UK Sex Discrimination Act legislation, Nepali women should in due course be invited to apply for recruitment,' says Ellis.
However, since the British government does not recruit women for direct combat roles, Nepali women will be hired in the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, Queen's Gurkha Signals and Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment but kept out of the Royal Gurkha Rifles.
London is still mulling how many Nepali women it will recruit each year. At present, there are about 3,500 male Gurkha soldiers in the brigade while about 230 are recruited to the British Army annually and a much smaller number for Singapore Police.
The recruitment of Nepali women will start with a 'pilot' project in August with about 40 volunteers, possibly aged between 18 and 21.
'The purpose of the 'pilot' is to confirm the level of capability we should expect if and when we are able to start recruiting Nepali women formally,' says Ellis.
'(However), taking part in the 'pilot' recruiting session in August will not commit either BGN or the individual young woman in any way to joining the British Army.'
Besides the pilot project, the BGN website will also put up a registration form for potential women candidates to gauge the level of interest.
'The form will be up till July 31,' says Lt Col Gavin O'Keeffe, deputy commander at BGN. 'We will work out the scale of recruitment, including building required infrastructure, from the level of interest shown. We might have thousands of applications or we may have none.'
When recruitment starts for male Gurkhas, Lt Col O'Keeffe says there are about 15,000 applications for 230 posts on an average, of who about 11,000 actually turn up.
The actual induction of Nepali women will not occur before 2010 with the recruitment starting around 2009.
Once the process starts, it remains to be seen how the male Gurkhas, the recipients of 13 Victoria Crosses, the highest award for gallantry, will regard the entry of women, especially since it is likely to reduce the number of male recruits.
'We have now 12 years of experience of working with women in the army,' Lt Col O'Keeffe laughs. 'Our legislation is mature enough to deal with any complications.'
