Women cops complain of unsafe working conditions

A few months ago, the all-woman police wing in Halasuru Gate station was relocated to Shivajinagar, but instead of being a boon to those in the area and staff, the move is posing a new set of problems. All 18 policewomen at the station have expressed concern for their own safety as the new location is one of the more disreputable parts of the city.

According to the policewomen, inebriated men and thugs often harass and threaten them. They said the neighbourhood is such that the very people the station is meant to serve don’t want to come there.

The city has only two all-woman police stations — one at Thyagarajanagar and the other at Shivajinagar. The latter used to be on the first floor of the Halasuru Gate police station, but was moved to the second floor of the Shivajinagar police station for administrative reasons.

Despite the station’s proximity to the jurisdictional law and order police station, women staff are reluctant to work there. “Men who loiter in the area pass comments and mock us every time we pass them by while no duty. In the evening, the street is full of drunk men who are a nuisance and make it impossible for us to carry on our day-to-day work,” said a constable. “If this is the state at the station level, imagine the plight of women approaching us for help.”

The policewomen raised these concerns when Karnataka State Commission for Women chairperson Nagalakshmi Bai visited the station recently following complaints from citizens. Several women had approached the commission saying that their problems were not being addressed by the all woman police station.

Poor infrastructure

When Ms. Bai visited, she was shocked at the unkempt appearance of the station and the lack of infrastructure. “Even the restroom for the staff is pathetic,” she said. “While the city police are spending crores of rupees on renovating other police stations, why are they neglecting the women’s police station?”

During the visit, it came to light that often, the women police personnel, unable to cope with the barrage of harassment, opt to wear the police sari rather than their regular uniform.

When contacted, station in-charge officer Anjumala Nayak said she was not aware of the problem and had not received any complaints.

However, Ms. Bai said she has taken up the matter seriously and would communicate her concerns to the city police commissioner and seek action to resolve the problems.

Meanwhile, Basheer Ahmed, Assistant Commission of Police, Pulakeshinagar, said women police staff were trained to handle such situations. “The station was shifted to this area as we were receiving many complaints from here. If they cannot handle it, how will they help others?” he asked.