Islamic women police conference in Pakistan

Female law enforcers are less than 1% of all law enforcers in Pakistan (0.86%). In comparison, female officers make up 33.38% of the total Australian Federal Police workforce in Australia (September 2010), with a Workforce Diversity Plan to increase recruitment.

In November, 2004, Australia appointed its first Muslim police officer, originally from Lebanon. She wears a navy, lightweight hijab specifically designed for her occupation that fits underneath her police hat.

A four-day International Islamic Women Police Conference from November 21-24 in Islamabad, Pakistan, brings together women police officers from more than ten Islamic countries to build synergies and discuss context-specific gender issues. These include gender perceptions of police culture and policing practices, progression of women in the police force, invisibility of women in mainstream policing, opportunities for professional development, and challenges of the job.

In Pakistan, there are 18 women police stations across the country with seven in Gilgit-Baltisan, three in Karachi and one each in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Larkana, Peshawar, Abbotabad and Islamabad. The Pakistan government now has a policy to integrate women in the mainstream police force, which is an increasing international trend in Muslim countries.

Research has shown that women police officers bring improvements in the working environment, such as the reduction of stress in the workplace. Women police officers also bring a public friendly image of police. Research suggests that women police are much less likely than men to use extreme controlling behavior, such as threats, physical restraint, search, and arrest. Surprisingly, the findings do not confirm that women are more likely than men to use supporting behaviours. Therefore assuming female officers manifest stereotypically feminine traits in policing tasks is clearly an overly simplistic conceptualization of the meaning and impact of gender in policing. In Pakistan, female police officers are seeking advanced courses in law enforcement and the placement of women in active policing based on their skills.

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