KARACHI: A consultative meeting with senior police personnel to discuss gender inclusiveness and possible strategies for gender-inclusive policing organised by Individualland turned out to be an eye-opener here on Tuesday.

“When you salute senior police officers you are acknowledging their rank but somehow higher-ranking women police officers don’t get salutes from constables even,” shared Inspector Zareen Shah.

“Society and even religion play a major role in our forming attitudes towards women,” said Saddar Town SP Tauqir M. Naeem. “The police are also a part of this society. There is definitely a need to change these attitudes,” he added.

Orangi Town SP Abid Baloch said that it was common nature to look with awe or surprise at something uncommon or new.

“In a male-dominated society, women running police stations didn’t go down very well with people in the beginning. They couldn’t readily accept it. But this attitude of theirs didn’t develop overnight. It took years to form and change too would take time,” he said.

“Tell me why we don’t remember women who lose their lives in the line of duty just like men. It is also a part of the same kind of mindset we are talking about here,” he added.

Women police officers discuss occupational challenges

Logistics DSP, Garden, Shehla Ghani, meanwhile, said that she knew how to fight and stand up for her rights in this very same male-dominated society.

“I have been fighting for my rights for more than 25 years now. And I can also stand up for my fellow sisters, to get them their rights. A male-dominated society does not demotivate or overwhelm me,” she smiled.

Finance and Welfare DSP Shirin Jahan also said that she has learned not to be intimidated by the challenges.

“I am part of the first batch of women who joined the police force here in the 1990s. As a woman police officer, I have been facing such challenges for several years now but I also feel that the men are getting used to our presence now,” she said.

Human rights activist Iqbal Detho, who is the only member from civil society involved in preparing course syllabi for police training institutions, said they had changed many things including introducing a course on human rights.

“The concept of vulnerable elements in society is there in all the revised courses,” he said. He also stressed that the structures that are in place already needed to be strengthened.

Women police stations

“There is a need for women police stations in every district of Sindh,” he said. “There should also be human rights cells, child protection desks and facilitation centres to direct you about where to go and for what,” he said.

Sundas Syeda of Individua­lland explained that the purpose of holding the consultative meeting was to look at the recommendations of senior police personnel to develop a training manual for the police.

Training DIG Sharjil Kharal, the chief guest on the occasion, said that if they were really looking for recommendations from the police to develop a training manual then they must also hear from zonal and range DIGs from all over.

He also said that there was a bigger need to train the people working at facilitation desks, human rights cells, child protection desks and civil society referral units.

“Work on their training first rather than going for big plans from the start,” he said.

“You need to hear from zonal and range DIGs because implementation of gender sensitisation is their job. But we call them for other things such as ‘full fried’, ‘half fried’, etc.

“Discrimination of women has been there since time immemorial. And it will be removed not by the women but the male members of the police force. They are to provide them an environment where they can work with freedom,” he said.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2018