Friday, Mar 29, 2024 | Last Update : 04:54 PM IST

  India   All India  14 Dec 2017  Afghan women officers train at Chennai academy

Afghan women officers train at Chennai academy

AFP
Published : Dec 14, 2017, 1:14 am IST
Updated : Dec 14, 2017, 7:22 am IST

Under Taliban’s 1996-2001 regime, girls were banned from education.

Afghan Army cadets march during a training programme at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. (Photo: AFP)
 Afghan Army cadets march during a training programme at the Officers Training Academy in Chennai. (Photo: AFP)

New Delhi: From shooting an AK-47 to dealing with computer-simulated sieges, 20 Afghan women officers are being put through their paces at a military training academy in India.

They are the first Afghan women to attend the academy in city of Chennai, which has been training men from the country’s military for several years.

The women receive weapons training and learn tactics and logistical and navigational skills at the academy, the only military training establishment in India for both men and women.

This week they were taught how to use an AK-47 and given classroom training in ambush situations.

The three-week crash course ends on December 24 and is reported to be a pilot for a full training scheme being planned for next year as part of the Afghan National Army’s efforts to recruit more women.

Afghanistan has said it wants women to make up 10 per cent of the armed forces, an ambitious goal given the current figure is barely three per cent. As well as the dangers of fighting in their war-plagued homeland, those who sign up say they face criticism for their choice.

Niloofar Rahmani was hailed as a role model for Afghan women after becoming the first female fixed-wing pilot in the Afghan Air Force. But last year, she sought asylum in the US, saying she had received death threats from insurgents and faced contempt from some of her colleagues. Under the Taliban’s 1996-2001 regime, girls were banned from education.

Tags: ak-47, afghan women, afghan army cadets
Location: India, Delhi, New Delhi