They are young, they are strong, they have fire in their bellies. One look at their picture and you will not fail to notice that they exemplify all the above attributes. Yes, this is a group of all-women police officers of the Bengaluru Police.
For the first time, Bengaluru Police force consists eight out of 20 DCPs and two ACPs as women officers who are working towards making Bengaluru a safe city for everyone.
Twitter handle of Bengaluru city police shared this information with the city. The tweet stated that, "A historic moment for BCP, 8 out of the 20 DCPs and 2 ACPs presently working in the force are women and are keeping Namma Bengaluru safe! Your courage is an inspiration! BCP is proud of them."
'An equal world is an enabled world'
It is a historic moment for Bangalore City Police that presently 8 women officers occupy the post of DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) out of 20 such posts. Such a favourable proportion of women's representation is unprecedented in police in India and in fact in metropolitan police across the world.
Acknowledging the efforts of women police force, Bengaluru city police commissioner Bhaskar Rao, IPS, took to his Twitter handle and said, "We are proud of our DCP and ACP girls, don't think any metropolitan city in the world has as many women DCPs as Bangaluru City has. A strong women empowerment state by the Government."
Statement by the women police officers of BCP:
"By highlighting this fact, we at Bangalore City Police wish to reach out to all the women in the country and especially to the young girls to convey to them that they need place no limits on their dreams... Anything is possible for them to achieve."
At the same time, we also wish to send across a message to the Indian society at large that so much more might be possible for women and girls if the glass ceiling were shattered as it should be! If women were free to achieve their fullest potential in life, unobstructed, imagine where this would take India and the world.
We at BCP pledge to support UN Women's campaign #EachforEqual to push for a gender equal world as "an equal world is an enabled world"
The force
- Dr. Rohini Katoch Sepat, IPS - DCP South
- Isha Pant, IPS - DCP Command Centre
- Ilakkiya Karunagaran, IPS - DCP VVIP Security
- Divya Sarah Thomas, IPS - DCP CAR HQ
- Dr Soumyalata, KSPS - DCP Traffic West
- Sarah Fathima, KSPS - DCP Traffic North
- Dr. M. Ashwini, IPS - DCP Intelligence
- Nisha James, IPS - DCP Admin
- Kavitha M.C - ACP Traffic & Planning
- Tabarak Fathima - ACP Pulkeshinagar
Women-safety initiatives
Secondly, with the increased number of women officers joining the city police force, the focus can be on women safety centric initiatives. This has been ongoing for some time ever since the administration took steps to provide safe public spaces for women in the city. And, with more women officers onboard such initiatives by the police department are sure to prove effective.
For instance, women's safety and crime awareness programmes launched by then DCP Isha Pant of South East Division of Bengaluru police focussed on training women in self-defence, skill development programme for slum women. Similar other initiatives are being launched to make the city more secure for women.
The city police plan to work with local NGOs to identify areas and issues where women find it unsafe to venture out. From erecting light poles to patrolling the area, the women police officers with help of local activists plan to bring changes for the betterment of women in the city.
Inspiration for young girls
Thirdly, these women officers will be the role model for young girls who are still not certain if they can choose the police force as a profession. View of confident and fearless woman officer patrolling a city on Enfield or in a police jeep would not only inspire girls and women but could also change people's perception who still think women in terms of weakness.
The current batch of 10 women police officers is in line with the prestigious tradition of strong women climbing up the ladder to reach the top position with Bengaluru police.
Be it the first woman Director General and Inspector General (DG&IG) of police, Karnataka, Neelamani N Raju, in 2016 or the upright and resilient Roopa Moudgil, women police officers are breaking barriers like never before. And with ever-increasing strength, this would go a long way.
Looking at the current batch of women officers, it certainly can be said that women can achieve whatever they set their minds to, including as tough and demanding a frontier as a police force.
