Fighting discrimination
It appears that policemen can only tolerate women law enforcers as long as they are confined to women’s police station
The Sindh Police’s commendable efforts to bring more women into the force and give them positions of authority seem to be failing given the blatant discrimination these officers are facing. Earlier this week, the SHO of Clifton police station in Karachi was removed from her post and demoted from her rank, but then was reinstated, due to media pressure. Similarly, another Karachi-based SHO has also been removed, while yet another is facing a departmental inquiry.
It appears that policemen could only tolerate women law enforcers as long as they were confined to women’s police station. As soon as they were brought to the forefront and asked to supervise male police stations, they clearly ended up ruffling some feathers and it was ensured that problems were created that would nearly cost these women their jobs. The idea to recruit women officers is a good one in theory, and according to a high-ranking police official quoted in this newspaper, female officers are more honest and are found to be less involved in corruption. However, in practical terms, their hiring has clearly become a problem as they refuse to get involved in the same kind of corrupt practices that quite a few of their male counterparts have become notorious for.
One reason why women officers have been found to be less corrupt is that they are new to this domain and want to mark their presence with good work. They are likely to be more disciplined and more inclined towards bringing about positive change as they come from outside the ‘male-oriented’ system. What is needed now is a consolidated effort to change mindsets. More women should be entrusted with this responsibility so that male officers are left with no other option but to learn to work with women. Simultaneously, sessions on gender equality should be conducted at police training centres so that the new batch of policemen entering the force is more open-minded. The achievements of female officers should be highlighted so that there is no misconception created about their supposed ‘poor’ performance.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2014.
It appears that policemen could only tolerate women law enforcers as long as they were confined to women’s police station. As soon as they were brought to the forefront and asked to supervise male police stations, they clearly ended up ruffling some feathers and it was ensured that problems were created that would nearly cost these women their jobs. The idea to recruit women officers is a good one in theory, and according to a high-ranking police official quoted in this newspaper, female officers are more honest and are found to be less involved in corruption. However, in practical terms, their hiring has clearly become a problem as they refuse to get involved in the same kind of corrupt practices that quite a few of their male counterparts have become notorious for.
One reason why women officers have been found to be less corrupt is that they are new to this domain and want to mark their presence with good work. They are likely to be more disciplined and more inclined towards bringing about positive change as they come from outside the ‘male-oriented’ system. What is needed now is a consolidated effort to change mindsets. More women should be entrusted with this responsibility so that male officers are left with no other option but to learn to work with women. Simultaneously, sessions on gender equality should be conducted at police training centres so that the new batch of policemen entering the force is more open-minded. The achievements of female officers should be highlighted so that there is no misconception created about their supposed ‘poor’ performance.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 29th, 2014.