Gurgaon. 06 January, 2016. Women’s representation in police and para military forces is not adequate and the Government is committed to give adequate representation to them. Ministry of Home Affairs has already issued instructions for 33% recruitment of women in the Police in UTs and the same has been approved for the CAPF recently. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh said that the MHA will implement 33% implementation in CRPF and CISF to begin with and 15% in border guarding forces such as BSF, SSB & ITBP.
The Minister was inaugurating the 7th National Conference on Women in Police at CRPF Academy, Kadarpur, Gurgaon today. The three day Conference is being attended by about 300 women personnel of State and Central Police Forces, from the rank of Constable to the Director General.
The theme of this Conference is “Capacity Building and Leadership” and the sub themes are Role of Women in Conflict Resolution; Work and Life Balance; Creating Gender-Sensitive WorkInfrastructure and Equipment; and Strategies to handle human trafficking. Rajnath Singh expressed his happiness to participate in the Conference.
The Home Minister said that women represent about 50% of the population and self sustained development of the countryis not possible without the participation of 50% women population of the country. He highlightedthe contribution of the women in the development of the country and mentioned that India is the country where women are given special status and respect. Rajnath Singh mentioned that the women in the country achieved all posts ranging from the President, the Prime Minister and many other top positions in the country.
Kerala was the first Indian state to have women in the police force beginning with the first women inducted into the then Travancore Royal Police in 1933. Thereafter recruitment of women into the police in other states began only after independence. In1981, women accounted for 0.4% of the total police in the country. But recently the number of women in Police increased gradually and it was 6.11% in 2014. Rajnath Singh hoped that the recommendations of this Conference will be useful not only to the women but to the entire policeforce to make it more effective. He mentioned that the women are presently heading National Police Academy and are working as Directors General of different CAPFs. Their professional excellence needs special appreciation and there is need for equity in thinking and actions, Rajnath Singh added.
The Home Minister said that the MHA will do its best for the welfare and promotion of professional excellence in women police officers. Rajnath Singh also hoped that the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPR&D) will set up a cell of research and development for increasing the representation of women in Police and CAPFs. The cell should attempt to underline the role of women in Police in India, to discuss and find solutions to improve their working conditions and organizational response to their increasing number in Police, to mainstream them as key players in leadership roles of the oganisation, to provide for their capacity building and plan for their career and to celebrate their contribution and achievements as agents of change in the Organisation.
Prakash Mishra, DG, CRPF, Vimla Mehra, Special Commissioner of Delhi Police and Conference Chairperson among senior officers from MHA were present at the Conference.