But the fact remains that the ifs is as untouched by gender equality as other services. Women officers are generally consigned to soft, comfortable postings. Wives are relegated to the status of 'hostesses', to be assessed according to how well they prepare official dinners. In the '70s, C.B. Muthamma moved the courts because she was denied a promotion and Surjit Mansingh was forced to resign because she married an American national. (Since then, the rules have been changed and an ifs officer is allowed to marry a foreigner provided the partner takes Indian citizenship.) How does Iyer feel about being the first woman foreign secretary? The important thing is to work together and sort out situations as they come,she says.But it helps to have an understanding spouse.
Chokila Iyer may well be the compromise candidate. She may be the beneficary of the luck of the draw, the generalist taking her place at a top post by virtue of a mere accident of her date of birth. Yet the appointment of this retiring baku-clad woman from Sikkim is also democracy-in-action. It is democracy-in-hope in an India where a quiet wife and mother can rise unfussily to the top of her profession to lead a diplomatic corps into the new millennium.
