Pakistan
is one of the few countries in the world where women have less opportunity to
serve in important and senior government positions.
In other departments, although the number of female employees has been
increasing in the last few years, there has been no significant increase in the
number of female officers in the police sector.
Nationwide, only 2% of the police force was female until 2017, and this
number has increased slightly in the last three years.
While the number of women in the police is low, the number of women
officers in the police is almost non-existent. However, women are now being
appointed to higher posts, which has boosted the morale of young girls.
One such female officer is Sonia Shamroz, the first District Police
Officer (DPO) of Chitral District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who has been in the top
post for a few months.
Sonia Shamroz belongs to a family in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, whose members
had never got a government job before her, so there is no question of a woman’s
job.
However, Sonia Shamroz is fortunate to be a character who will change
the history and tradition of her family.
Sonia Shamroz says she came up with the idea to wear a uniform when she
was studying at Army Burn Hall College in Abbottabad, which led to her passing
the Higher Competition Commission (CSS) exam and getting a job in the police.
Of
Sonia Shamrooz was initially promoted to the post of Assistant
Superintendent of Police (ASP) but over time she has been promoted to the post
of ASP. Also learned
She says that while she initially became a police officer, other people
were surprised, but also male police officers were worried about how they would
work with a woman, but over time and hard work on their part. Later, the male
officers realized that they could work with him without any hesitation.
Sonia Shamroz also served in other parts of the province, including
Abbottabad, and was later selected for higher education in violence against
women at York University in the United Kingdom.
Sonia Shamroz is also one of the few female police officers in Pakistan
who have been selected and trained for the UN (UNDP) ‘Peace and Justice’
program. ۔
Later, Sonia Shamroz was given the responsibilities of DPO in Chitral
earlier this year and under the ‘Peace and Justice’ program there, with the
help of the United Nations and the European Union (EU), the Gender Response
Desk (GRD) He also set up a model police station including RD.
She has set up a special model police station in Lower Chitral with a
staff of female personnel, which aims to provide timely and better guidance and
assistance to women in the area.
Sonia Shamroz says she is facing two of the biggest problems in Chitral
and is trying to overcome them as soon as possible.
Referring to the problems of Chitral, he said that the suicide rate
among young girls in the area was higher than the rest of the country and the
issue was the biggest problem in the area.
According to him, the suicide rate among young girls in Chitral is high
due to other issues including domestic violence, incestuous marriages and
unwilling relationships.
Describing the second problem of the area, he said that the second
problem of Chitral was to get young girls from remote districts or people of
other provinces to get married.
According to Sonia Shamrooz, parents of young girls in Chitral marry
off their daughters to elderly people in other provinces, including those from
remote districts, in exchange for money, which is why girls there end their
lives.
DPO Chitral says that he had set up a model police station a month ago
but within a month, his police station has solved about 100 cases and the
female officers of the model police station are increasingly young in the area.
Helping the girls.
The Model Police Station is set up to provide legal assistance to girls
who have been forced to commit suicide, and the role of the Model Police
Station is being appreciated.