“Every morning, I used to see women crowding in front of my house, marvelling. They would ask: ‘Are you really a cop? My husband said bad words about you!’” recalls Deputy Inspector General of Police Mily Biswas.
Mily was the second lady to join the police force at the officer level in 1988, through the Bangladesh Civil Service examination.
She was posted to Netrokona as the Additional Superintendent of Police in 1992. Though she had a young child, she had to leave him in Dhaka, and stayed in Netrokona for two and a half years.
“One by one they would come, and before stating their problems they would touch me to dispel their disbelief. They wanted to confirm if the police officer standing in front of them really was a lady.”
Despite the social challenges over the years, Mily, also the president of the Bangladesh Police Women’s Network, just celebrated completing 25 year in this profession, thanks to her willpower, wit and the drive to accept challenges.
“Even after the BCS results were published, my father was hesitating a little. Back then people could only imagine girls as darogas (guards and constables) in this profession, not as an ASP. However, my mother gave me her full support.”
Though Mily had her family’s support, many of her female colleagues did not have it so easy.
Mousumi Mondol, assistant commissioner at the Women’s Support and Investigation Division at the Victim Support Centre (VSC) in the capital, shares how she made it through despite strong opposition from her husband and other family members.
“I studied English and then did an MBA. No one in my family wanted me to go for BCS. I did not even tell anyone that I was preparing for it. But results showed that I qualified in the police cadre - which was a shock because I had been heavily discouraged regarding the training in Sardah. My husband told me that I would never be able to complete it,” she said.
Ladies in training
The Sardah experience was definitely a surprise for the ladies. Sardah is the Bangladesh Police Academy located at Sardah, under Charghat police station, in Rajshahi.
“Interestingly, before going to Sardah, we were instructed from the police headquarters to take college uniforms with us. But at the training, our principal strongly opposed. He said the women would have to do all the physical exercises: parades, ride horses, practice arms, swim through ditches. How could they do all these wearing kameez?”
“You cannot even imagine how difficult the trainings are – for both men and women. Everyone had to complete all the levels. And if you had seen the size of the horses in Sardah, oh boy … they were huge!” Biswas said.
Despite the interesting challenges at Sardah and her home, Mousumi completed her training.
“Today, I feel proud. I love my uniform. There was a time when I had to keep my BCS books hidden from my husband. But seeing my results and progress, today he is happy,” adds Mousumi.
Officer on duty
“While recruiting, I am amazed to see the enthusiasm in girls these days.” Mily said. “They mention police as their first preference in the BCS. Today there are more than 5,500 lady officers in the force. The number was around 500 when I joined.”
Merin Sultana, senior assistant police commissioner of the VSC, said the job entails all sorts of work.
“I supervise ongoing cases, deploy forces during hartals and blockade programmes at different spots, check copies of constable recruitment examinations, operate rescue operations, select candidates for different missions and so on,” said Merin.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Hassan Mahmood Khandker said: “Previously, female members of the police only dealt with cases filed in connection with repression against women but are now engaged in investigating other sensitive and important cases.”
“They are doing a commendable job,” agreed Mily, “both at the desk and in the field, as officer-in-charges, in the Rapid Action Battalion and on immigration duty at the airports. Recently we saw some of them handling the pickets during hartal duties.”
She added: “Our women officers were recently singled-out and lauded for their performance at UN peacekeeping missions.”
“The UN is now planning to hire more Bangladeshi female police,” IGP Mahmood said.
Roadblocks
Since police work has traditionally been viewed by most people as a male occupation, it was difficult and at times frustrating for women cops to deal with that stereotype.
“In this patriarchal society, such complications will always remain. Even our male batch-mates used to make derogatory comments,” Mily said. “But we did each and every task with prudence, and proved that women were no less than their male counterparts.”
Fatiha Yesmin, additional deputy police commissioner of VSC, encourages practicing a professional attitude. “We see a lack of professionalism, especially at the constable level. Many take this as just another 9-5 paid job. Their mindset has to be changed. They should realise that women have joined this profession after going through the same exams and training as men.”
Furthermore, working in isolated regions tends to be a challenge. Mily said if a woman is posted in a remote area, she may not have anyone to share her problems with – personal or administrative.
“A female officer may be abused by someone at the station. Or sometimes, just because she is a girl, she may be deprived of due promotions. In many places, our female officer face basic problems regarding washrooms and accommodations,” said Mily.
Mily said they formed Bangladesh Police Women’s Network in order to solve these issues, and promote women participation at the constable level.
Home station
Balancing personal and professional lives is “a challenge indeed,” Mily said.
“If there is a lack of understanding with your spouse, or if he is not supportive enough, then it is really difficult to progress,” she said. “You will not be able to concentrate on your work. You remain pre-occupied about issues such as taking care of your child, the home, the domestic help and so on.”
Yesmin and Mousumi agree that if someone enjoys what she does, then she does not feel the pressures.
But Yesmin cautions: “Women need to give 100% to make sure they don’t fall behind.”
IGP Mahmood added: “Women police unit started its journey a few decades ago. Now you look at their achievements and no one can say they are lesser than their male counterparts, and, in many cases they have surpassed the male officers.”
