amritsar at quarter past five in the morning prabhdeep kaur and preeti are snugly buttoning up their combat camouflage border security force bsf shirts with a swift alertness they pick up their heavy insas 556 mm rifles and hang them on their shoulders the pouches are attached and the zap cap worn surveillance eyes on observation notebooks stowed sealed lips and austere looks flitted across their faces the pair walks with a distinctive swagger to take the permission of their company commander at sharp 6 the attari check post of at the indopak border wakes up to the pounce of their steps as they take up their positions one on tower and other inside the rest hut these women come from the first ever allwomen bsf training camp site kharka near hoshiarpur district of punjab the camp which began training women in 2009 has produced over 1000 women so far for the border areas women are allowed on the observation field posts only between 6 in the morning to 6 in the evening breaking at 12 o clock midafternoon says bsf dig punjab rps jaswal as the day progresses the responsibilities of these women broaden they frisk female agricultural workers who require to cross the border to tend to their fields also the primary reason why they were inducted three years ago once that gets over they patrol the fence with prying eyes two of our females in gurdaspur had recently shot the intruders from the other side of the border they are not to be taken lightly warns jaswal beating the retreat near about fifteen to five in the evening jasbir kaur 22 and chandra 22 both over 510 are standing before the mirror putting lip gloss and pins in their hair to add to their feminine touch a scarlet sash and a black beret with a feathered plume wait to be picked up the appearance must be spick and span as they to take part in the spectacle that has made this border post most famous in the country when the flags of the countries are lowered at the ceremonial sunset closing of the gates commonly known as beating the retreat as they appear on the stretch leading to the big gates the new spectators are obviously stunned they havent seen women in this ostentatious uniform before women at border lara croft or xena the warrior rishabh gupta from new delhi asks innocuously of them however their gig is only short lived the pakistan rangersa are yet to introduce women so jasbir and chandra march to the gate before the men and witness the proceedings from the sidelines we cant raise our legs that high but let us assure that we have equal aggression in our gait and voice as our men counterparts they smile and may be even more fans here they whisper filling their stomachs sharing their common canteen mess with the male personnel these women take their grub with