In Pakistan’s largest province, Balochistan, where women make up only 2.25 percent of the police force overall, a female police officer has shattered the glass ceiling by taking the position of district security chief.
The Punjab government filled a vacancy by appointing SP Shazia Sarwer as District Police Officer (DPO) of Layyah to convey a positive message to those joining the federal services from less affluent provinces. According to a police official, SP Sarwer was the first officer with a Balochistani residence and the sixth policewoman to hold the position of DPO in Punjab.
Over the past four years or so, DPOs for Bhakkhar, Bahawalnagar, Sargodha, Pakpatan, and Layyah were SP Shaista Rehman (from the 36th common), SP Amara Ather (from the 36th common), SP Maria Mahmood (from the 36th common), and SP Nida Umar (from the 36th common). Farah Batool was appointed as the first police officer to hold the position in the district’s history by Faisalabad City Police Officer (CPO) Omer Saeed Malik in a related development. Mr. Omer revealed to Dawn that the action was done in response to the rising number of women attending police stations in one of the most populous cities where women’s representation was minimal.
He claimed that there was a plan to hire more female SHOs shortly. According to an official source, the current IGP Faisal Shahkar organized several meetings to increase the percentage of female officers and end male dominance at all levels. This led to a substantial shift in Punjab police policy. When a few senior police officers made it obvious they disagreed with the policy at first, he encountered some criticism from inside the department’s predominantly male workforce. They argued that because women face so many obstacles, they are incapable to lead police forces, and so he should stop assisting women in field postings.
He continued by saying that if the Punjab police commander wanted to increase the number of female officers on the force, they “suggested” giving them administrative or other non-field duties. However, IGP Shahkar disregarded such recommendations and gave field police officers instructions to raise the proportion of police officers in their particular districts and areas. The police chief, according to the official, not only added two senior female officers to the Punjab police executive board but also improved the role of the “women police councils,” established in all law enforcement agencies, encouraging policy decisions to enhance gender mainstreaming in law enforcement agencies.
Shazia Sarwer, Amara Athar, and Shaista Nadeem are three policewomen whose names the IGP recently proposed to Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi for three DPO seats. Following that, the officers were invited to an interview at the CM Secretariat where IGP Shahkar was also present.
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According to the official, the chief minister gave his assent for SP Sarwer to be posted as the district police officer for Layyah. The insider also stated that there were rumors that other policewomen were being appointed to lead district police.
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