Women police stations still waiting for authority to fight crime
The reason being that no such powers were granted to the stations and one by one, the female officers got themselves transferred to male police stations near their homes.
Sitting in a quiet office next to the New Town police station near old Sabzi Mandi, SHO Sajda Jamili did not hold back in sharing her disappointment with the job.
“Since we can not register FIRs, we perform security duties for dignitaries,” she grumbled while signing an application. “On other days, we perform clerical tasks.”
The east side story
On paper, there are three women police stations in the South, West and East zones of the city but in reality, the latter two have not been fully functional since their establishment three years ago.
The two stations do not have the authority to register FIRs, conduct investigations or assist victims of violence. This leaves only the South zone women police station to deal with thousands of female victims who feel uneasy sharing information with male officers.
“Look at the roof, it’s caving in! They call this a police station, but there are no lockups and no maal khana,” complained SHO Jamali while gesturing to the poor conditions around her as proof of neglect.
With paint coming off the walls, a broken printer lying in the corner, the Childs Right desk-cabin locked and her uniform hanging in the corner, she lamented, “If by mistake women complainants turn up at this station, I have to call other police stations and plead with them to register their complaint”.
Things are no different at the West Zone police station which was built within the Liaquatabad Police Station. As stray dogs roamed in the veranda, dirty and dingy stairs led to the station on the first floor. “We can not register FIRs,” said a female officer who preferred to remain anonymous. “They (the Liaquatabad station) do not involve us in the cases related to women and carry on with the investigations themselves.”
Delay in transfer of powers
The deputy inspector general police administration, Abdul Khaliq Shaikh, called the delay in transfer of powers to the women stations as ‘bureaucratic bottlenecks’.
“The authority to allow these stations to function and register FIRs lies with the chief minister but the blame for the delay is on the senior police officers who have not pursued the matter.”
He defended the recent induction of 400 women in the Sindh police. “The female officers should not be restricted to the women police stations only. They are required in traffic control, administration and even for investigation.”
According to Shaikh, the South Zone women police station will soon be provided protection equipment such as helmets and bulletproof vests.
The lack of functioning women police stations in the city creates the most problems for female victims who hesitate to confide in a male officer and often choose not to report at all.
“In our society, the male police officers are insensitive and put the female complainants in a tight spot,” said the Aurat Foundation resident director, Mahnaz Rahman, who cited the lack of women police stations as one of the main reasons why victims do not register FIRs. “We need such stations to provide easy access for female victims so that they could step forward.”
Published in The Express Tribune, April 30th, 2012.
COMMENTS (6)
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i did a story on the Women Police Station in You Magazine, The news March 20, 2012...read that too..although I focused on South Zone station....im glad u did stories on the east and the west zones....we need to highlight this problem as much as we can
Until when police will be performing body-guard duties to so-called elite of this country.....our taxes are waste in protecting robbers???
Women police station are an absurdity, just like pretty much everything "liberals" have introduced into Pakistan in the garb of "womens protection" (translation getting time in the media) and as usual it has been done without even a modicum of thought. What has happened is that female constables and officers have been transferred away from places where they could actually do some good, many police stations have lost experienced constables and officers. On the other hand Police stations have fought to keep the good constables and officers and transferred the bad, ensuring that the quality of staff at most WPS is very poor. We need all Police where they can do some good, not filling up some Police Station in order to warm the cockles of some liberals heart.
Haha. This is funny. the ppp always speakings of giving women's rights. in fact the first women station was created during BB's second tenure. And today in its government, police statiosn are struggling. where will women go now
Well @Rizwan T. Khan, only if they're allowed to function will be find out about their "behaviour".
Uniform looks nice. I hope their behavior is equally nice.