The idea behind assigning new duties to the female officials is to change the Thana Culture – DIG Police Hyderabad
By Rehan Ali Khushik
HYDERABAD
The district police officers, for the first time, have posted women Assistant Sub Inspectors (ASIs) as duty officers and the Women Head Constables as Head Mohrars at various police stations of Jamshoro, Hyderabad, Badin, Dadu and Matiari districts.
The women police officers have assumed their charge at the concerned police stations and started their work to investigate cases and also to resolve the domestic issues of the women.
Some of the newly posted women police officers while talking to this scribe shared their experiences and said that they feel proud to be duty officers at police stations.
The postings of ladies police cops at PS are aimed at ameliorating the police system and bringing the traditional Thanna culture to an end. The new development is being termed as an important decision by the common people who say it will help eradicate rampant corruption at the police stations and the common men could easily walk through the relevant thannas for their complaints.
When contacted, the DIGP Hyderabad Range Pir Muhammad Shah regarding the interviews of newly posted women duty officers (WDO) and head mohrars, he directing the SSPs of the concerned districts to arrange the visit and meeting of this scriber with the WDOs.
An ASI Yasmeen Bhatti, posted at PS B Section Hyderabad, while giving interview hailed the decision of posting women duty officers and head mohrars at police stations and said that it occurred to her for the first time in 15 years of her service in police that she was a police officer as the constables and head constables had started saluting her at the police station.
She said that no male constable or head constable would salute her earlier when she visited some police stations on account of official works. “Before the directions of IGP Sindh, the women police cops were assigned the duties of taking lady prisons to produce them before the court only but currently she feels well.”
She complained that some of the male mohrars and head mohrars were not extending their all-out cooperation to her as yet and that being a lady, she avoided bringing it to the notice of hi-ups.
“The male mohrars, head mohrars and assistant sub inspectors do teach us how to lodge FIRs even. They feel better to discuss with us on official matters so far. I want to learn working modus operandi and become an efficient police officer in future”, ASI Yasmeen Bhatti said.
She demanded the Deputy Inspector General of Police Hyderabad Range of issuing directives to the concerned quarters to facilitate them in equal to that of their male counterparts.
Lady Head Constable (LHC) Sabra Qureshi, posted as head mohrar at PS Jamshoro, told that she faced discrimination at times by the male cops adding that the station house officer (SHO) was taking 12-hour long duty from her, which had landed her in trouble.
She said when she was posted at police headquarters, she would perform her duty for eight hours but after she got postings at PS Jamshoro some 10 days ago, she had to give four hours more without doing any work.
“Sitting idle on the chair for 12 hours every day is not less than any punishment; it’s really a narrow escape. We should be taught how to register FIRs and other works first and then we can give more time to our PS”, she said.
She said that after her posting as head mohrar, the ladies felt easy to throng to the police station for lodging their complaints against their household and in-laws while she tried to resolve the domestic issues of the visiting women on the spot by calling the second party.
ASI Jannat Mallah posted as duty officer at PS Badin told that she was recruited in Sindh police in 2007 as constable and promoted to the rank of assistant sub inspector adding that the prevailing IGP Sindh had taken suitable initiative to post the women cops at police stations.
“We enjoy working at police stations. Earlier, we were unknown and unidentified. No male police constable or constable used to salute us but now they respect us to some extent”, she said.
She said that after her posting as duty officer at PS, she herself listened to the woes of complaining ladies who easily unearthed the domestic pain they were reeling from. “Earlier, the victim women could not disclose the secret happenings before the male police officials”, she clarified.
ASI Rehana Arain posted as duty officer at PS Talhar, told that with the new commandment of provincial police chief, the women cops had gained some reputation in the police fraternity but before it, no male cop was ready even to talk to them adding that more steps ought to be needed to bring reforms in policing.
She also shared the same tale that the male police officials were not cooperating with them properly when it came to registering complaints. She went on saying that there should be a proper monitor system in the relevant SSPs offices so that the women cops could be given equal tasks. “I am a woman but am not feeble, I can deal with every kind of situation”, she stated.
She said there were many issues at police stations for women duty officers, which will surely diminish with the passage of time adding that they could run the police stations too once they got promoted to the rank of sub inspector.
She said that DIGP Hyderabad Range was a beacon of hope for them as he always resolved their issues on priority basis. She added that the PSP officers in majority wielded importance to the female cops.
Women head constables (WHCs) Ghulam Zainab Gopang, Murk Channa, Anum Abbasi, Sania Solangi, Zuhra Mangi and Zameena have also been posted as head mohrars in different police stations in Dadu by SSP Irfan samo.
Earlier, when contacted, the DIGP Hyderabad Range Pir Muhammad Shah told that many female cops have been deputed as duty officers at the police stations and they were being given powers to handle all the public issues especially that of ladies affairs.
He said the SSPs were personally interested to assign due role to the female cops in order to stand by the IGP Sindh to revamp the traditional thana culture. He added that he knew that people always avoided visiting police stations because they assumed that they would have to give bribes even for getting their legal work done; therefore, there was a dire need to change that perception.
He said that the female cops had been waiting in the wings to get equal work in the department and with the vision of the current IGP Sindh, they have been provided the opportunity to showcase their talent in policing and added that the female cops posted as duty officers and mohrars were doing well.
Likewise ladies police officials were posted at police stations in Sukkur, Nawab Shah, Mirpur Khas and Larkana divisions.
This step of IGP Sindh Ghulam Nabi Memon and DIGP Hyderabad Syed Pir Mohammad Shah for posting of ladies police officials as duty officer and WHC at police stations is widely appreciated by the people of Sindh.
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