OKARA: District Police Officer Mansoor Aman announced on Thursday the launch of the first batch of 16 women police constables under the special police project - RIDAA Force (RF).

The force will be responsible for addressing the harassment faced by women, especially schoolgirls, college students, and women in public spaces.

The passing out parade took place at Tayyab Saeed Shaheed police lines. The RF’s presence will gradually extend to all tehsils in the district. During the event, Assistant Superintendent Police Amir Shaukat, RF in charge, provided details about the special training these women constables received, including motorcycle driving, self-defense, first aid provision, and weapon handling. These RF women constables will patrol on bikes during their duty hours.

The RF has been designed to ensure the safety of school and college girls, and women in parks, and markets. RF constables will respond to emergencies reported by women. RF constables demonstrated their skills in motorcycle driving, self-defense, and other completed training aspects.

The event was attended by District Emergency Officer Zafar Iqbal, Investigation Superintendent of Police Malik Dawood Khan, and representatives from Government Associate Women’s College.

MOU: The University of Okara (UO) and the NUR International University (NIU) have entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) that encompasses various fields, such as Management Sciences, Psychology, Health Sciences, Food Sciences, Nutrition and Dietetics, Biosciences, and Biochemistry.

The virtual meeting between UO Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Wajid and NIU’s Dean of Life Sciences Prof Dr Tahir Zahoor discussed the terms and conditions of the MoU. Both institutions have committed to initiating faculty and student exchange programs, capacity-building workshops, study tours, cultural exchanges, industrial visits, career counseling sessions, and internships.

The universities also plan to organize joint workshops and seminars. NIU expressed its readiness to support UO’s teachers and students in research projects. It also offered to arrange visits to hospitals and laboratories for UO students, particularly those enrolled in health sciences and life sciences programs.

Prof Wajid expressed the UO’s commitment to leveraging the partner organization’s resources, facilities, expertise, and cultural diversity to enhance academic quality and provide state-of-the-art learning opportunities to its students.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2023