The Indo Tibetan Border Police Force on Monday said it has deployed at least 100 women personnel at 15 border outposts along the India-China frontier. This is the first time a contingent of women has been posted in a forward area (those in proximity to combat) after the border outposts were made “gender neutral” .

The announcement came while the ITBP marked its 55th Raising Day. ITBP Director General Krishna Chaudhary told PTI that the women personnel are all trained in warcraft and weapon firing. Of these 100 women, 97 of them are from Uttarakhand.

Most of the women have been posted on the Ladakh frontier of Jammu and Kashmir, while others have been sent to locations across Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Uttarakhand. Almost all the border outposts are at an altitude between 8,000 feet and 14,000 feet.

Plans are now afoot to induct more women into the ITBP. According to Director General Chaudhary, the ITBP wants women personnel to make up at least 40% of its strength at these border outposts. The force has a total of 1,661 women personnel across ranks. However, a majority of them – roughly 1,033 – are in the constabulary ranks.