In an unusual and risky move, an Afghan woman was appointed policewoman to a district in the capital of Kabul this week with a company of four bodyguards, Reuters reported.
Colonel Jamila Bayaaz, who joined the force more than 30 years ago, took charge in a country where women have few rights and is heading one of Kabul's busiest shopping districts. According to Reuters, Bayaaz said she hoped to inspire other women and improve paltry numbers in police ranks despite highly-publicized recruitment drives in the post-Taliban era, in an interview on Wednesday.
One officer, she said, had already visited Bayaaz'soffice with an application, Reuters reported.
"She was very excited and told me that when she saw me on television she was encouraged to serve as a policewoman. I was surprised," Bayaaz said in her office, bedecked with flowers from well-wishers. "My priority is to protect women and help them recruit in the police force through this job."
Although a brave initiative, joining the police force is a dangerous move. Working alongside unrelated men in a deeply conservative society not only exposes women to criticism but also to some form of abuse and suffering from male colleagues, Reuters reported.
Hence women are given twice the number of bodyguards usually allotted to a comparable male officer and also an armored car.
"I know there are dangers and threats in this job, but I don't worry about them. I focus on my job, how to make things better," Bayaaz said.
Creating a female police force was considered an important victory for Western efforts to promote equality after a U.S.-led military coalition toppled the Taliban in 2001, according to Reuters.
"People's mindset has changed a lot towards women and become more radical," Bayaaz said. "My children and husband are worried about my job, but I can't quit simply because they say so."
With a culture of impunity entrenched among male officers in terms of harassment, women victims are often reluctant to report abuse to a force in which 1 percent of officers are female, Reuters reported.
"No one has been prosecuted, that's for sure. What normally happens is that a huge amount of pressure is put on women to withdraw their complaints," Elizabeth Cameron, senior adviser in Afghanistan to NGO Oxfam, said by telephone. "Having a head of district is just fantastic and it sends a very strong signal to policewomen in Kabul - and to policemen."
