Women in police in India

By Praveen Dixit on February 24, 2022

As against the developed countries, per cent of women in employment in developing countries including India remains peripheral. Of late the same has started improving as more women undergo higher education and few of these prefer to join the services. As India celebrates its 75th anniversary of Independence, it is proposed to examine what ails the police sector and what needs to be done to improve the per cent of women in police in India. Presence of women in police service is imperative on many accounts. The figures of male and female in society roughly indicate, there are nearly fifty per cent women. Hence normally there should have been similar per cent of women in police as well. In following lines, an attempt is made to identify the problem along with corrective measures to improve the situation. Ever since the modern police force was created under East India Rule and then British India, the police force has been considered as the exclusive zone for males. Though, in United Kingdom itself, the picture is different and in Britain, women are working in police in big numbers. The purpose of British rule in India as well as in other colonies was to suppress the local aspirations and loot these places to the advantage of British Rule. During freedom struggle in India, large number of women participated in mass protests as well as in other revolutionary activities. Even then, the British continued to prefer only men to quell these voices of protests through high handedness of males.

2) Even after gaining independence, the earlier policies did not change and police in India continued to be male dominated. For the first time in 1972, selected few women offices were inducted as Indian police service officers. These numbers remained less than ten for many subsequent years and these women officers were allotted to various states. A few of them shot up to prominence when they were working in places like New Delhi. However these were more as demonstrative examples rather than any substantial change in the policy as such.

After 1990s, as the aviation sector grew, it was felt necessary to have women in lower ranks of police for frisking women travellers to avoid incidents of hijacking which was a major threat then for aviation security in the world. These women police officers were prevented from doing any core police working and they were not provided even training in police investigation as such.

3) In the latter half of nineties, the Government of India conveyed to the State Governments their policy that the State police forces should consider having thirty three per cent as women police as a parallel social reservation. Interestingly, this recommendation originated from Women and Child Development Department as a welfare measure towards women rather than from Home Department which is the parent department of police. At the same time, this recommendation allowed the States to fill up the vacancies by males, if females were not available in adequate numbers. There were additional terms stating that the quota for women would be available only for those who belong to economically backward class and this quota is to be part of social parallel reservation. In other words, this quota would be operated only for persons who have reservation under different categories such as scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and OBCs. Thus even today, the policy continues to give preference to males in recruitment. The Constitution of India provides that though there is equality of opportunity in employment, the government can create a quota for women and it is to be treated as valid provision. Thus constitutionally and legally, it is not possible to have a mandate stating that there shall be thirty three per cent of women in entire recruitment. Thus legally it may not be possible to have quota for women in open categories, but the deserving women if meritorious cannot be denied selection in open categories.

4) Secondly, the crime situation in the country reveals that women continue to be victims of many offences such as rapes, domestic violence, violation of modesty, kidnapping, trafficking, cyber offences, as well as crimes of property such as chain snatching, robberies and thefts in large numbers. At the same time the number of women who are being detected as perpetrators of offences is also growing in all offences. Increasing number of women are being detected as accused in Maoist activities in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Telangana

and other states , terrorist activities in Kashmir ,North Eastern State and LTTE, cyber offences as well as in international trafficking from Nepal, Bangla Desh. Women are also being used for trafficking drugs from Afghanistan, Pakistan Nigeria and many other countries. Investigation of these offences and prevention of these offences needs the presence of women police in substantial numbers. Simultaneously, the number of women participating in protests, Maoist activities, and terrorist activities is on the rise. To tackle this trend, the Government of India has raised women battalions in central armed police forces such as CRP and ITBP. These are being used even in peace keeping activities in several parts of the world under the United Nations and have been welcomed abroad as well. Of late, the women commandoes are being deployed for the security of Prime Minister and other important persons as well.

5) However, the law and order being a state subject, recruitment of women in police is controlled by the State governments. The situation in the states is highly lopsided. A few states are having a presence of ten per cent of women and striving to improve it further; many other states have hardly made any efforts to improve the situation. Moreover, even in states where the number of women in police is on the rise, the police stations do not have adequate facilities for women such as separate toilets, changing rooms, retirement/feeding places, or place to look after their young ones when they are on duty. Moreover, the working environment in police stations is also not much conducive for women to give their best. The complainants as well as their colleagues and senior officers in the police provide them secondary treatment creating a complex in their mind. If the women are deployed for traffic duty, incidents of attack on them, dragging, and abusive behaviour by rowdies continues to be reported frequently. Thus whether the women are working in offices, police stations or in the field, they continue to remain vulnerable. A few attempts to have all women police stations are attempted occasionally, but these remain isolated. All women police stations have not been much successful partly because there are no adequate number of women police officers and women in lower ranks. Women police officers are believed to be les corrupt. Women police officers allege that this is perhaps the reason, behind not appointing them in-charge of police stations. Moreover,

continuous patrolling in field at odd times poses serious difficulties for these women police. Recently all women patrolling vehicles have been pressed in service in metropolitan cities and these have proved quite adequate to strengthen security of women. However, the women police find it difficult to discharge these duties as they do not have toilet facilities or rest rooms.

6) In the above background, if the situation is to improve and women are to be involved in a substantial manner, it is imperative that following genuine concerns expressed by several women police officers need to be addressed on priority:

Every district must have pre-recruitment coaching arrangements for women, where assistance in improving their performance in various physical and written tests for officers as well as in lower ranks would be made available free of cost at least for four months prior to the tests. Women aspiring to join IPS need to be provided longer pre recruitment training.
Women to be encouraged in recruitment even in unreserved seats.  The seats for women reserved under parallel reservation be filled by special recruitment every year
During training, many women are unable to cope up with various physical requirements. Hence for women, there should be suitable modifications keeping in mind their difficulties during menstruation, pregnancy and post-delivery periods. The number of women trainers also needs to be increased substantially so that there are no charges of molestation as well as discrimination.
Frequent transfers and separation from the family prevents many women from working at remote places. Hence arrangements need to be made to post them at places of their families as much as possible. Quarters are to be made available for women at secure places so that they do not have any worries about the safety of their families.
After working for six hours, women police may be allowed to go home and they should remain available at call. Similarly during night time as well, except a skeleton number of women police they may be allowed to remain at home and should be available to attend urgent duties at call.
Exclusive audience needs to be provided to women police by the chief of the unit every month and action taken to be informed in the next meeting.
Women should be provided refresher courses once in two years to improve their skills in investigation and make them capable to handle all offences.
Special counselling sessions to look after their physical requirements should be arranged besides, regular courses in yoga to ensure their mental and physical fitness are imperative.
Instead of posting women in a standalone mode, if they work in combination with males, they can be more effective in tackling complex societal problems.
Those women, who have made into police service, should take up all responsibilities allotted to them. They should not shy away as that leads to biased view against all women as they want to avoid the work.
The lucky few should remain sensitive to women complainants unlike their male colleagues.
Exclusive analysis of women police of all ranks in the State should be prepared every two years based on rank, age, native place, posting since recruitment, willingness for transfer to particular place, family reasons, any previous/current medical history, school/college of children, willingness to work in executive/side branch for next five years
In all side branches, quota for women police should be made available to enable these women to handle their family responsibilities.
Though at some headquarters/commissioner areas, police-public school facility is available, centralised care facilities near/at headquarters should be provided with the help of NGOs/private firms so that women police will be able to concentrate on their work for 6/8 hours in day
During refresher courses counselling should be done to give equal importance to professional and family matters, so that no workload should percolate to colleagues/subordinates. Counselling should also be done to avoid undue advantages of being female. This would ensure healthy working environment.
In probationary training of all women police, special courses/seminars/court counselling/crime investigation guidance/social media analysis be made available at all units. This would help women police not to remain behind other male colleagues because of their pregnancy leave period or other family issues arising during initial period of their service
At all urban/rural working places, good facilities for changing/ rest/separate washrooms/feeding rooms be made mandatory to provide hygienic and comfortable environment for women police.
In laws need to come forward and be more supportive as working women need strong elderly support to look after their kids. The family members should be prepared to be accommodative to uncomfortable working hours as on most occasions, mother in law expects that working daughter in law should not step out in the night, and should be working at home as well.
Efforts be made to change societal mind-set towards working police women

7) The Government of India should demand compliance of the above from the States and link providing modernisation funds to such compliance. Till a few years ago, Bureau of Police research and Development (BPR&D) used to organise yearly meeting of women police officers across the country and forward their recommendations to States for improving the plight of women in police. Similarly, the State governments should organise special forum every year to discuss the improvement in working conditions of women police. The States which lack in these arrangements be taken to task for reporting fulfilment in given time frame.

8) The situation today is definitely improving and the awareness to include women in discharging police responsibility is growing. Many women

police officers have come forward in providing the necessary leadership successfully. Increasing number of women prefers to join as IPS officers as well as in lower ranks. Early Implementation of above listed measures is imperative to improve the situation further in the days to come.

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(Author is former Director General of Police, Maharashtra State)