Daily Times

In what can only be termed a welcome move, the US is making progress in inducting more female police officers into Afghanistan’s police force. This is part of a long-term programme initiated by the US to ease the transition process in the wake of the NATO and US forces’ withdrawal from Afghanistan. That this programme is looking to bridge the gender gap in the police force, which is massively male dominated, is a step in the right direction, especially since humans rights abuses, particularly those perpetrated against women in that country, were a main calling card to post facto justify US intervention more than a decade ago.

There are many reasons why this is a timely and healthy initiative for the Afghan police force. NATO and US forces have received a lot of flak in the past for their methods of carrying out operations in the country, which have included barging into people’s homes, a repulsive concept in Afghan culture where the sanctity of the home and the segregation of the womenfolk is sacrosanct. This was such a bone of contention between the international security forces and the Afghan government that even former President Hamid Karzai took up this cause, reprimanding them for being insensitive to Afghan culture. With the introduction of female police officers, cases that involve having to enter Afghan homes will be better handled by female cops, something that respects Pashtun culture and purdah (segregation) customs. The process of inducting female police officers started some years ago but is being pushed with more force and financial incentives — a $ 945,000 a year recruitment and retention fund, aimed at bringing in as many as 5,000 female officers in a 10-year plan — so as to better suit the police force in the country for the many challenges that lie ahead. These female officers are part of the frontline in the war against terror and the Taliban insurgency. They symbolise strength and victory over the medieval militants who wish to see women as little more than cattle confined to their homes. That is why many leading and effective female officers have been killed by the Taliban over the years. This is no cushy job and these women deserve as much encouragement and protection as they can get. They also need protection from harassment and abuse in the very institution they work for. In a largely male dominated patriarchal culture and society, they will be open targets for workplace molestation. This is an issue that must be addressed at the earliest so that nothing holds back these women from doing a critical job in the harshest possible environment. *