Home secretary urges women on

“It is disappointing to see that of the 15,000 police personnel in Mumbai, not even 5,000 are women. I don’t believe we do not have enough girls who are Class 12 pass — the minimum criteria for admission into the force.”, reports Sayli Udas Mankikar.

“It is disappointing to see that of the 15,000 police personnel in Mumbai, not even 5,000 are women. I don’t believe we do not have enough girls who are Class 12 pass — the minimum criteria for admission into the force.”

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Chandra Iyengar, state additional chief secretary (Home), said this while addressing the media on the occasion on International Women’s Day at Mantralaya on Monday. This is in contrast to Maharashtra’s pioneering record in implementing the women’s reservation quota in government services.

Iyengar said, of the 3,500 applications that have come in during the police recruitment drive that began on Monday, not even 1,000 are women. “The estimates show that despite the 30 per cent reservation for women in government services, only seven per cent of the police force is women, which is astonishing,” she said.

She added that the inclusion of women was important as “it changes the attitude of society in general. Women bring with them changes that include transparency, compassion and the strength that only women have.”

Additional Chief Secretary (Public Health) Sharvaree Gokhale, who was on the discussion panel along with Iyengar said, “When we have women as police officials, the force displays a more sensitive side, which helps in dealing with women victims, especially in cases of rape and other harassment.”