This article examines systemic discrimination against women in the Indian Armed Forces, focusing on institutional barriers and gender-based challenges from 1992 to 2024. Through analysis of landmark legal cases, policy frameworks, and institutional practices, this article identifies persistent discrimination across recruitment, career progression, combat roles, pay and benefits, and institutional culture. While legal interventions, particularly Supreme Court judgments like Babita Puniya, have mandated greater gender equality, implementation remains problematic. Drawing on examples from multiple branches including the Military Nursing Service, this article demonstrates how discriminatory practices are deeply embedded in military institutional culture across all service arms. Drawing on comparative analysis with NATO forces, this article provides recommendations for comprehensive reform, including restructuring promotion criteria and implementing robust anti-harassment mechanisms. The findings contribute to understanding institutional resistance to gender equality in traditionally masculine military organisations.