Sri Lanka Army to recruit Tamil women to volunteer corps

Sri Lanka Army Spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasuriya announced that 150 young women would be recruited to Sri Lanka Army from Tamil dominated Northern Province and multi-ethnic Eastern Province.

Accordingly, 100 young women are to be recruited from Kilinochchi district and the rest are to be recruited from the Eastern Province.

The recruits will be enlisted in Sri Lanka Army Women's Volunteer Corps. After the training they will be deployed for duty in their home areas.

The Army rejected the rumors that the Army is recruiting women forcibly saying that women enlisted into the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force are able to leave the service whenever they wish to as per the Volunteer Service Regulations.

"Anyone with required qualification can join willingly and no one would be forced to join as alleged by parties whose obvious objective is to disrupt re-conciliatory measures of this nature initiated by the government," the Army said.

Recruitment to the armed forces from Tamil dominated Northern Province was minimal during the war time. However, the defeated Tamil rebel group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam had strong women's battalions.