Hoshiarpur (Punjab), July 25 - The 178 women, most of them from small towns and villages, inducted into the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF) here Saturday to guard the international borders, are starry-eyed at the thought of being the first women in this job crucial to India's security.

Sandeep Ghuman, one of the five recruits who won a medal for her performance during training, said: 'I get so excited whenever I think about guarding the international border. I have countless questions in my mind and I am very eager to join my duty.

'We have got extensive physical training like drill, camp training, security duties, handling natural calamities and intelligence and vigilance training.'

The women participated at a passing out parade at the Kharkan camp of the BSF, 15 km from this Punjab town. The ceremony was witnessed by union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and BSF Director General M.L. Kumawat.

They have already trained for 36 weeks and will now get specialised tips on advanced combat for two weeks before taking up assignments along the 553-km-long fenced India-Pakistan border in Punjab.

S.K. Mession, a postgraduate in Punjabi literature and one of the new recruits, told IANS: 'I was easily getting a government job but I refused all those offers as I wanted to serve my nation.

'I am from a very small town in Punjab and now I want to show this whole world that Indian girls are capable enough to do anything on this earth.'

The newly inducted troopers will be the first women to be deployed along the international border.