Islamabad - Civil society activists yesterday criticised appointment of male police officers in the women police stations demanding immediate appointment of women police officers.
The participants said women should not only be given prominent presence in the police department but they should also be authorised to register First Information Reports (FIRs) at women police stations and investigate the cases subsequently.
They said this while speaking at a discussion on women police in Pakistan organised by Individualland Pakistan, a research consultancy organisation in collaboration with Friedrich Naumann Stiftung.
The participants criticised appointment of male police officers as Station House Officer (SHOs) in women police stations and demanded of the government to immediately appoint women police officers as SHOs in women police stations. They also demanded to increase the number of women police stations in Pakistan.
Dr Aneela Khan from the Institute of Psychology Islamabad speaking on the occasion said that there are less than one per cent women in the police department of Pakistan as compared to 7.4 per cent in Maldives, 6.11 per cent in India and 4.63 per cent in Bangladesh, which is very alarming and due to this it is essential to increase the number of women in the police department.
Ghazala belonging to Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (PODA) said that there was a need of putting an end to the gender bias that only male police personnel can be efficient police officers.
She argued women police could outperform male police officers in their duties and there should be no male police or women police, they should be treated as police officers.
Another participant said that government need to set up separate police stations for women and also women should also be promoted at the same pace as male police officers.
Individualland Pakistan has been working with women police personnel since 2011 and has conducted two surveys on Women Police in Pakistan and also published two publications.