Contributing to positive social change, professional women are keeping up with their male counterparts when it comes to efficiently undertaking challenging job roles in Hili border area under Hakimpur upazila of Dinajpur.
Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) currently employs nine female officials who are carrying out crucial tasks, including immigration duties, border security, and prevention of smuggling and human trafficking.
While talking to this correspondent, some such female BGB personnel on-duty, said they kept track of import and export of goods, people commuting through, checked baggage for contraband items, prevented smuggling and human trafficking and in general protected the camp.
“We are proud to be a part of an honourable profession and we encourage others to also become self-sufficient,” they said.
According to the respective upazila offices, currently there are an upazila agriculture officer, an agriculture extension officer, an upazila Ansar and VDP officer, two railway police officers and four Hakimpur police station officers, all of whom are women.
Hili Railway Police Official Nipa Roy said: “It is a common misconception that women belong at home in the kitchen. But in reality women are working alongside men just as well in every job role in Bangladesh, including law enforcement.
“We ensure smooth commuting experience for travellers and prevent transportation of illegal goods. We are doing our part in helping the public and serving the nation, which is a big responsibility.”
Hakimpur Agriculture Officer Shamima Naznin and Agriculture Extension Officer Arzena Begum said that they did not face any obstacles when carrying out our responsibilities. “We can carry out field duties and provide services just as easily as our male counterparts.”
Hakimpur police Station Sub Inspector Hosne Ara said: “Women are successfully working alongside men in the district police force. There are also three constables appointed at our police station besides me. They participate in drives and arrest female suspects. They also provide services to women, children and people with disabilities and tackle administrative tasks. They are successfully accomplishing what their jobs entail.”
Even a decade ago, there were few jobs open to women in law enforcement and those appointed were usually assigned only peripheral tasks. In those early days, women were not considered as capable as men in law enforcement. Recently, however, many options have opened up, leading to the creation of possible new careers.
Roksana Khatun, a female police officer, became the first ever female Officer-in-Charge of a police station in Khulna division.
She was appointed to the Naragati police station of Kalia upazila, Narail, on February 5, replacing the then OC of the police station, Md Alamgir.
Before being appointed as an OC she served for a year with the United Nations peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Later, she was appointed as a court inspector for two years in Jessore Sadar.
Back on May 18, 2009, the government appointed Hosne Ara Begum as the first-ever Officer in Charge (OC) of a police station in the history of Bangladesh. She was assigned as the OC of a police station in the capital city of Dhaka. She started her career with the Bangladesh police in 1981 and has worked in many regions of Bangladesh.
