By Zainab Ali
ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) Pakistan has highlighted lack of female representation in the police department.
The UNOPS organised a day-long workshop in Islamabad to highlight different issues including the lack of representation of women in the police department. Inspector General of National Highways and Motorway Police (NHMP) Khalid Mahmood was the chief guest at the event.
Women’s representation
During a day-long workshop, the participation of women in public sector jobs was discussed. It was said that women in public sector jobs in Pakistan had been set back due to numerous factors.
Among the several factors, some are lack of a women-friendly work environment, Gender disparity in educational and professional development, unequal access to professional opportunities and cultural and social issues.
Due to the same issues, the government of Pakistan has set a quota of 10 percent for women in the police force. Regardless of the efforts of the government to increase the representation of women in the Police force by setting a 10 percent quota for females, currently, the percentage of women in the police force is below 2 percent. In addition, most of these women are at the Constable level with few at the Superintendent level.
UNOPS role
United Nations Office for Project Services is already working on gender equality along with supporting the Sustainable Development Goals, good health and well-being, clean water and sanitation, industry innovation & infrastructure, climate action, Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions, and it is aligned with the Pakistan Government’s Vision 2025
UNOPS mission
UNOPS help people build better lives and help countries to achieve peace and sustainable development. UNOPS help the United Nations, governments and other partners to manage projects and efficiently deliver sustainable infrastructure and procurement.
How to Increase Women’s Representation in Police Force
Currently, Pakistan is among the countries where systematic disempowerment, gender inequality, and segregation of women are common issues. As per the data of 2018, Pakistan ranked 148 in the Gender Equality Index out of 149 countries. Recruiting more women in the police force will directly impact women’s empowerment. Ensuring the implementation of the existing quota and increasing it will help increase the percentage.
Keeping in view the cultural context in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, a training programme in a personnel training institute should be designed which provides an enabling environment for females.
