• We serve
• A brave history
• More gloves for safe love
• Make them aware- FPA 
• Kala Korner- By Dee Cee
• Sinhala and Hingala - A taste of Sinhala -5
• It sings, dances and rages
• Her green, green grass of home - Down Memory Lane
• Into the conflict zone
• ICRC jobs
• 'So we made it then' - West meets East
• All about village life - Book shelf
• Rich archive for military buffs - Book review
• Forging ahead with infrastructure and skills
• Listen to the little voices - Medical Measures
• The many myths that surround suicidal behaviour
• Medical mess gets shot of relief - Second opinion
• You could save a life
• Enter Vampires
• My literature teacher - God, how proud I am!
• Moved by love, he writes
• People and Events
• Flowers for a brigter tomorrow
• News 100 years ago
• Letters to the editor

We serve

Undaunted by the difficult living conditions and the sound of gunfire around them, they carry out their duties as valiantly as the men. Women are at the warfront in the North in places like Jaffna and Elephant Pass serving at checkpoints on the streets, on guard duty in the camps and even on bunker duty. 

Currently around 13 women officers and 600 in other ranks are deployed for various duties in the Jaffna peninsula, beside their male counterparts.

Second Lieutenant Preethika Rajapakse accompanied our group of journalists on a tour of Jaffna last week. Having joined the Army in 1997, she was sent to the North after a year's training at Diyatalawa. She has served in Point Pedro and is now attached to the Palaly Camp. Preethika looks after the welfare and duties of the soldiers in the camp and is also concerned with their personal problems. 

"I was drawn to join the Army after seeing TV programmes about the Army," says this young officer from Veyangoda. She applied to the Army after she completed her Advanced Level exam and although her father was initially against her joining up, she managed to overcome the opposition. She has no regrets about her decision.

Lt. Madavi Jagodage serves in a similar capacity at the Army camp at Kilali. A batchmate of Preethika, Madavi served in Mannar after her training period. "I am happy I joined," she said, quite relaxed as she took over as the Duty Officer for the night.

Pvt. Shamali Vittanar-achchi, K.M.K. Kumarasinghe and Pvt.I.S. Somaratne were on bunker duty that day, while Cpl. S.K.R. Priyadari was handing over her duties. Shamali, who joined the Army in February last year has been at Kilali after her training period, which was shorter than officer training. "I joined the Army because I had no job and also because I wanted to," Shamali said. "I thought there would be much hardship but I find it quite easy. Everything is provided for us. I did not have any difficulties on account of being a woman."

According to Shamali, there are a lot of falsehoods being broadcast about the Army and its reversals.

"There were many problems in this area," she said. "Our soldiers worked hard to overcome these problems. My message to the youth of this country is to join the Army and render a service to the country."

Inside the log bunker, Pvt. K.M.K. Kumarasinghe was preparing for her turn of duty. She explained that they spent one full day in a bunker, on two-hour duty shifts. While two rested, one kept guard. Pvt. Kumarasinghe from Anuradhapura has spent 11 months with the Army. She trained at Kalawewa, like her colleague Pvt. Somaratne, the third member of the bunker guard who comes from Vavuniya. 

Also from Vavuniya was nineteen-year-old Sajeevani. "Living in Vavuniya, I always had a liking for the Army," she said. "I wanted to wear a uniform and serve my country." Sajeevani was on guard duty at the entrance to the camp, together with Nilmini Pushpika, 21.

"We do not have any problem in recruiting women soldiers and officers," said Lt. Colonel Prashanthi Perera, Centre Commandant of the Women's Corps. "If we call for 100 recruits, we get over 500 applications. We receive applications daily in the mail." Many girls are attracted to the uniform, she believes. "The Army is recognized in the country and the pay is good. We are also getting girls from Colombo with Advanced Level qualifications wanting to join the Army."

Women soldiers are deployed on bunker duty only within the camps. "Many of the recruits prefer to serve in the operation areas rather than in Colombo," Lt. Col. Prashanthi commented. "They get an additional allowance of Rs. 3,000 which is also an incentive. The female soldiers get the same starting salary as the men do," she said.

Lt. Col. Prashanthi who has served for 17 years says she has had no problems as regards her family life. Married to an Army Officer, she has two small daughters, but is able to coordinate her work and family satisfactorily. "The training we get equips us to handle any situation and organize our lives," she said.

A brave history

The Women's Corps, which started with one unit has now expanded to five. One unit is based in Colombo while the other four are in the operational areas. It has regulars and volunteers just like the rest of the Army. "We have some girls who are eligible to enter University opting to join the Army," Lt. Col. Prashanthi Perera, the centre commandant said.

The women soldiers are given a 2 1/2 month training at Diyatalawa or Kala Oya or in the other training centres such as Puttalam, Boossa and Dehiattakandiya. The officers are trained for one year at the Diyatalawa Academy. The training varies little from what the men undergo, but the courses are different. The men get more practical training. The women soldiers have all female instructors except at the Training Schools.

As far as duties go, the women soldiers are deployed in functions of defence but not in offensive attacks. They undertake guard duty, manning checkpoints and bunkers, road blocks, clearing and guarding roads and cordon and search operations.

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