Capacity building: Equipping women police to function as well as their male counterparts

Women police gets US-funded ambulances and other gear.

ISLAMABAD:

Women police are a critical and growing part of Islamabad's law enforcement and the US Embassy is honoured to be partners with them. This was stated by the US Embassy Director of the Narcotics Affairs Section Jon Danilowicz.

He was addressing a ceremony for handover of equipment to the women police held at Islamabad Police Lines here on Wednesday. During the ceremony, the women police station received two ambulances, two vans, two coaster buses, two motorcycles, 64 helmets, 20 first aid kits, 10 handheld radios, two mobile radio sets and a battery charger.

Danilowicz said, “This equipment will help increase the capacity of the women police, giving them the tools they need to do their jobs.”

The women police station is the second unit of the Islamabad police after Rescue 15 to have its own ambulances, according to police officials.

The mobility and utility of the women police, till now, has been limited. Women police largely deal with complaints related to women and rarely take part in regular police operations of fighting crime, said a police official.

However, while speaking at the occasion, the Inspector General of Police Bani Amin Khan said that the women police are serving in Islamabad police shoulder-to-shoulder with their male colleagues.

“They are very much devoted to their profession and are working hard,” said Khan. He thanked the US embassy for the gesture.

According to a press handout, the equipment handover is part of a larger US government programme to assist female police across Pakistan.  The Women’s Police Programme was initiated in 2011 and is designed to assist female police in developing their professional capacity by providing training, equipment, and infrastructure.

To date, the US government has allocated $5 million to the programme. Previous training sessions have educated female police on such topics as operating police vehicles and using computers. The programme is currently running training courses in first aid and investigation skills.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2012.