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Policing is a demanding job, which involves long and uncertain hours of duty.Many women are entering this job but their representation is not satisfactory. There are many challenges women police have to face. Policewomen emerge as tokens in a male-dominated occupation notwithstanding the fact that their representation in the police department is very necessary for addressing gender-related issues on a priority basis and ensuring support to women victims of violence as well as protecting their rights.So this paper focus on the problems of the women police.

The objective of the study related to this topic is to know the challenges faced by women police at the workplace.

On this topic reference have been made from various books i.e. “New Dimensions to Police Leadership” by Samanta, A. K. (2003 ), Women police in India by Tumpa Mukherjee, (2020), Laws relating to women In India by Dr.. Syed Masood , ‘Justice for Women (Concerns and Expressions )’ by A.S. Anand-CJI Of India , journals, newspapers and websites 

If we talk about the job of policing many women are entering into this job.It is considered to be one of the most masculinized occupations of the world. It has been described as one of the most “gendered” professions particularly agreeable to traditional male gender characteristics. It is believed women have been slow to enter. Policing is a demanding job, which involves long and uncertain hours of duty. However, over the past few decades, the police workforce has grown much more diverse with regard to gender and race .In India, while all the postings and ranks in the police are common to both men and women, women are still under-represented in the police force. Policing is a psychologically stressful work filled with responsibility to maintain law and order in addition to personal responsibilities towards their own families. This becomes all the more stressful to women police as women traditionally considered as care takers of house hold activities. During the corona pandemic women police officers have performed their duties excellently and bravely keeping the welfare of the society in priority before their personal lives but the policewoman's progress has been beset by subtle barriers, largely generated by the traditional belief held by many police administrators, that police work is essentially a man's job. Women police have certain limitations also like physical strength, family responsibilities, (e.g. pregnancy, motherhood) ,which creates hindrance in performing her responsibilities. It is usually thought that women police are less capable of bearing the work pressure in performing duties of the police. Even as the government plans to induct more women into police as part of its empowerment drive, they still face with lack of basic amenities like toilets, uncomfortable duty gear and want of privacy. They don't have the facility of of toilets around due to which they spend long hours on duty without water which results in dehydration problems . There is also the problem of lack of health facilities and crèches.

Sexual harassment and organizational in-civility affect the dignity and performance of women personnel in any profession. Sexual harassment introduces stress. The cost of stress for employees are mainly physical and psychological illnesses, including depression and job dissatisfaction; while the costs for employers are mainly absenteeism, job attrition and deterioration in productivity.It is a great challenge for women police personnel to work with full honesty and dignity in a corrupted and compromised environment.

They don't get recognition from their male colleagues. Although policewomen are expected to perform tasks and roles similar to those of policemen, there are differences in terms of the women’s motivation levels as well as the negative attitudes of their male counterparts and decision-makers. Role ambiguity and multiple roles result in increased stress. Most women in the police are confused about the way they should conduct themselves.

Although they have been present in the law enforcement profession, they are often placed in the women’s cell or the suvidha centre (citizen-government interface), denying them full equality with their male counterparts. Even when women have been given full policing powers, they have not been able to completely utilize these powers. This creates problems of co-ordination both among women personnel and between the women police personnel and their male counterparts.

The women police lack knowledge related to the new techniques of information technology which is a hindrance in tackling the cyber crimes. Due to the advancement in technology the face of crime has also become more advanced. The criminals are committing crimes in new techno ways which these women police, due to the lack of training and knowledge ,find it difficult to catch them and punish them. There is also a big question that when women police are being exploited and harassed by her seniors then to whom she complaints ?

Leadership is a another factor which pose a challenge to women in the police. Women are perceived to be more people-oriented because of their socialization; they are meant to exhibit more democratic, participative, holistic and interactive styles of leadership, while men are thought to be more task-oriented. Another reason is lack of job satisfaction. Women police are not satisfied with their promotion opportunities and working conditions Thus, it is understandable that women police personnel who are less satisfied with their jobs will be less motivated to perform the necessary tasks. Policewomen emerge as tokens in a male-dominated occupation notwithstanding the fact that their representation in the police department is very necessary for addressing gender-related issues on a priority basis and ensuring support to women victims of violence as well as protecting their rights.  

There are various enactments occupying the field pertaining to protection ,welfare and empowerment of women on account of illiteracy ,immortality, radical change in the Indian societies on overall rapid and effective westernization of India. The problem related to women are being mushroomed. The parliament in its part legislated various exclusive statutes to deal with the harassment ,cruelty and cases of molestation against women. Indian Penal Code,1860, Criminal Procedure code,1973, Indian Evidence Act,1872, Protection of women against sexual harassment at the workplace) Act, 2013 etc. are the various statutes to provide protection to women literate or illiterate.

Suggestions

It is very necessary so as to bring their problems before different sections of the society like judiciary, legislature ,media, common people so that required and necessary amendments can be done by making effective policies .If our women protectors will be happy then it can be an inspiration for our coming generations to choose police service as a career and there will be less discrimination at home as well as at the workplace.                 

Recruitment and promotion of women police are important to increase women’s representation at different levels. To increase the numbers of women police at all levels, states should make commitments to maintain equitable balance of men and women. Recruitment procedures should be conducted in a systematic and phased manner to achieve proportionate representation of women. Departments should create common and combined posts and assign clear targets for the number of women to be recruited in every recruitment year at all levels. Although women are supposed to be given 33% reservation but the reality is something else and there is partiality and biasedness which women police face at the workplace .Therefore in order to ensure 33% reservation in direct recruitment for all posts at the entry level  special measures should be taken. If the assigned seats are unfilled by women, states should carry these forward and conduct special recruitment drives to fill long pending vacancies. To publicize the opportunities for women in police, departments should collaborate with local media and educational institutions. Retention of women police is equally important. Data published by the Bureau of Police Research and Development shows the decrease in the strength of women police over the years. Unless state governments make the institutions gender-friendly and create facilities that cater to the needs and roles of women, retention of women police is challenging. This includes setting up creches, preventing sexual harassment at workplace and building separate rest-rooms. It is unfortunate that even police training schools do not have these facilities, not even those as basic as separate washrooms. In such a situation, there is an  urgent need for setting up basic necessities for women police at the workplace  i.e. police outposts, district headquarters, police training schools, etc. Apart from this, it is also necessary that female police personnels should be provided the similar opportunities as their male counterparts are being provided in hard core policing.

Retention of women police is equally important. Data published by the Bureau of Police Research and Development shows the decrease in the strength of women police over the years.Studies show that some of the key reasons for the high attrition rate of women police are sexual harassment and gender discrimination.Unless state governments make the institutions gender-friendly and create facilities that cater to the needs and roles of women, retention of women police is challenging. This includes setting up creches, preventing sexual harassment at workplace and building separate rest-rooms. It is unfortunate that even police training schools do not have these facilities, not even those as basic as separate washrooms. In such a situation, the urgent need for setting up basic necessities for women police at workplace cannot be over-emphasised. These are not only required at the police station level, but also at district headquarters, police outposts, traffic police and training schools. Simultaneously, governments and police departments should ensure that women police are given similar opportunities as their counter-parts in contributing to hard-core policing. Serving women police have expressed that they are likely to be assessed less competent and considered less suitable for positions with a high level of responsibility and challenge. Women’s role cannot be restricted to answering calls on 100, making diary entries or to all-women battalions/units. Despite the continued presence of these issues, no government has attempted to conceptualise a comprehensive policy to make the police service more inclusive in the real sense. Unfortunately, the manifestos do not seek to address any of these concerns and needs. Merely creating policies that promise a certain target of reservation does not ensure that as many women are actually recruited and promoted. Any government that comes to power must create a level-playing field to truly open up opportunities and cater to the requirements of diverse sections of the society. We must remember that policing needs women for the values and quality that they bring in, and it is not the other way round.

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