With an agro based economy, Pakistan’s 60 to 65 per cent population lives in rural areas and around 90 per cent of the farm work, from seeding to sowing to harvesting and selling
With an agro based economy, Pakistan’s 60 to 65 per cent population lives in rural areas and around 90 per cent of the farm work, from seeding to sowing to harvesting and selling, is undertaken by women. From driving a tractor to flying a fighter jet, or paragliding, or doing office jobs, or serving police or army, women’s contribution is enormous. When it comes to police force we see a number of dedicated female police officers who are no less than their male counterparts in efficiency and bravery. One such daring woman police officer is Shehla Qureshi, Superintendent of Police (SP), Arambagh, Karachi. In an exclusive interview with You! Shehla Qureshi talks about her experiences of joining the police force. Here are the excerpts...
You! How did your journey begin?
Shehla Qureshi: After doing matriculation from Govt. Girl’s Secondary School, SITE, Karachi and FSc (pre-medical) from Khatoon-e-Pakistan Govt. Degree College Karachi, I joined University of Karachi. Then I did BSc (Hon) and MSc in Zoology with specialization in ‘Entomology’ and got first position. Later, I qualified the exam of lecturer-ship from Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) with a distinction and also topped the Combined Competitive Exam of Provincial Civil Service-2008 (PCS) for the post of Assistant Commissioner and got 2nd position in Sindh. For three years, I served as a lecturer at D.J Science College Karachi. In 2010, I appeared for Central Superior Services (CSS) exams and earned the sole honour of being the first female Assistant Superintendent Police (ASP) and then SP (Operation) in Karachi.
You! Why did you choose such a difficult and male dominated field?
S.Q: I joined the field because I wanted to dispel this notion that women are weak. World’s best sniper is a Soviet woman, Lyudmila Pavlichenko. Credited with 309 kills, she is regarded as one of the top military snipers of all time and the most successful female sniper in history. Women have perfect shooting abilities; they are good managers and good investigators due to their innate curious nature. Pakistan cannot progress until its women, who make Pakistan’s 49 per cent of the population don’t play their effective role.
Another reason to join the field was to fight against the stereotypical mentality that a woman cannot become a police officer. Our constitution guarantees equal rights for men and women. Teaching, nursing, medicine or police are all professions and adding a prefix of a ‘female’ is gender stereotyping. We should not discriminate between a male or female professional as they perform the same job and face the same challenges attached to their careers.
A man cannot even imagine the excruciating pain a woman goes through while giving birth. This is more than an average person can bear. This means that she is blessed with extraordinary tolerance and makes her fit for taking up any challenge.
You! Did you ever think that you would become a police officer when you were young?
S.Q: When I was three and a half years old, my grandfather used to call me ‘Shehla Thaneydar’, due to my authoritative nature towards other kids. So, I think it was somewhere at the back of my mind that I would pursue this career.
You! After becoming SP, what was the reaction of your seniors and colleagues?
S.Q: You find all kinds of people everywhere and in every organisation. You have to accommodate yourself according to the situations. Women easily get accommodated in all situations. Moreover, in order to make place in any field, one has to make some sacrifices. Some of my officers are really good and give me enough space to grow while others are biased. I don’t get much appreciation in this department no matter how much work I undertake. I know it is a thankless job but I am not in this profession for rewards.
You! Does the police department have enough strength to deal with women issues?
S.Q: Earlier, women only made 0.94% of the total police strength, which has increased to 1.8%, quite recently. The facilities for women are not according to their specific needs like transport or day care. Secondly, duty hours of women are not fixed. There are more than 5000 cases of domestic violence and it needs the presence of a female police officer at the desk 24/7. Usually if a victim, who has undergone domestic violence at the hands of her husband or in-laws, goes to a male police officer, they dismiss such cases. They say that this is their private matter and it’s better to solve it at home. What needs to be understood is the fact that a woman wouldn’t have brought her case to the police station if it could have been resolved at home. Secondly, when she goes back home without the redressal of her issue, she faces wrath of her in-laws and sometimes she is thrown out of home. This centuries old culture needs to be changed. And I am putting all my efforts to help women in need.
You! Have you ever felt threatened? How do you cope with threats?
S.Q: Once in uniform, we don’t need to be scared. Recently, a traffic police officer, Muhammad Khan, was shot 30 times in his head, even though he died after being shot twice. Such barbaric acts send a clear message to the police department. It is a risky job. With police strength of merely 3000, we control a city of around 30 million population. Only in my jurisdiction, the population is six lakh. As many as 50 lakh people live in the old city area. Many police officers have embraced martyrdom while performing their duties. Scarcity of resources and lack of facilities make it further risky. In order to cope with the situation, we need to employ updated technology. A mega system of CCTV cameras should be launched. Also, new security strategies need to be adopted so as to cope with threats.
You! Any plans of getting married?
S.Q: I am serving police 24/7. And marriage is in the pipeline but right now I am way too occupied to think of starting my own family. There is some space for personal life in army and other services but not in our department. It always keeps us on our toes. I respond to every call, even to unknown numbers, and help even those who don’t belong to my jurisdiction.
You! You are climbing your career ladder very fast. What are your future plans?
S.Q: I am not moving fast, I am SP for the past six years and was ASP before that. Time is running very fast and I have to achieve more goals. I make new goals every day and try to achieve them. My main aim for now is to become Inspector General (IG) police at provincial level and then to become the first female IGP of Pakistan.
