Increased policewomen strength a serious need: Jahid

KABUL (Pajhwok): Interior Minister Taj Mohammad Jahid on Tuesday stressed the need for more policewomen and said their recruitment process had been poor and needed serious attention.

Jahid was addressing a seminar ‘Conference on Future of Policing in Afghanistan, Visions and Viability’ in Kabul.

The participants included First Lady Rula Ghani and European Union Police Mission in Afghanistan or EUPOL officials.

“There are many problems in Afghanistan’s traditional society suffer the most from violence and pressures caused by old traditions, therefore resolving these problems would not be possible without female police officers,” Jahid said.

He said mostly policemen currently fought against militants in the country and the presence of policewomen was essential during operations and home searches.

The minister said recruitment process of policewomen would be accelerated and simplified and female police officers would be provided essential facilities.

About policewomen’s harassment, Jahid said: “We would provide even better and safer environment for female police officers and prevent any type of harassment and investigate such cases so we could win their families’ trust.”

Rula Ghani also said female police officers played an important role in law enforcement and stressed their number should be increased.

“Presence of policewomen in police ranks eases law enforcement, it is essential to have female police officers while searching homes and women, their presence is also important in leading prisons where women are kept,” she said.

Rula Ghani thanked EUPOL for its support to policewomen recruitment and public awareness and demanded more help from the organization in this regard.

EUPOL head for Afghanistan, Pia Stjernvall, said: “Improvement of policewomen can pave the ground for stability in the country and people will have better services, so coordination among police forces should be paid serious attention.”

She said the Afghanistan Constitution called for law enforcement, justice and protection of human rights and the goals also needed policewomen to be achieved.

Though police job was to enforce laws, yet 80 percent of them in Afghanistan were involved in fighting militants, she added, saying sacrifices of police forces for protection of their people should be honored.

mds/ma

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