ISLAMABAD, Oct 6: Helena Saeed made history by becoming the first woman deputy inspector general (DIG) of police in Pakistan.

Working in a male-oriented environment for the last 20 years, she proved that police service is no more a men's domain and policewomen also possess physical as well as mental capabilities and emotional fitness to perform their duties at par with their male colleagues.

According to a statement issued here on Thursday, DIG Saeed tried to bring a change in policing 20 years back by joining the police department as the first assistant superintendent of police (ASP) setting a new precedent for educated women to join a conventional service that was deemed fit only for men.

Now with 11 highly educated young women as ASPs, we expect that the enhanced role of women police in Pakistan is not a distant reality. It is anticipated that the police department will seek advice from DIG Saeed while making policies that directly affect recruitment, retention and promotion of women police nationwide.

DIG Saeed in her brief statement said: “Women police must be hired, evaluated and promoted on their own merit and not as tokens to satisfy some statistical requirements of the government or some political needs.” She said “recognition of women's role in policing is important to persuade them to perform better and encourage more women to join police to achieve a gender balance”.