Women's Police Corps

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Women's Police Corps (Photo RS HQs Facebook)

The Afghan Women's Police Corps is an important part of the Ministry of Interior (MoI). In Afghanistan women make up around half the population but they are underrepresented in the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

Need for Women in Police Force. The tradition and culture of Afghanistan sets up obstacles for the police when dealing with Afghan women. For this reason, the inclusion of women in the Afghan police is important. The Islamic tradition of separating men and women creates challenges for the police - especially when conducting investigations, female searches, or when dealing with female offenders and victims.

Obstacles to Women in the Afghan Police. Women who choose a career in the ANSF face a cultural stigma. ^1. Many Afghan women must overcome traditions and often pressure from their families if the decide to join the police force. ^2. Women police usually will wear civilian clothes when going to or leaving the workplace in order to avoid confrontations with the public. In addition there was a high level of female illiteracy - which is slowly being corrected now that girls can attend school in Afghanistan.

Papers and Pubs about Afghan Women Police
(listed in chronological order)

Women & Peace Studies Organization. Afghan Women in the Police, July 11, 2018.
http://wpso-afg.org/afghan-women-in-the-police-english-report-july-2018/afghan-women-in-the-police-full-report/

OXFAM. Women and the Afghan Police, Oxfam International, September 10, 2013. This paper explains why a law enforcement agency that respects and protects females is crucial for progress.
www.oxfam.org/en/research/women-and-afghan-police

SDC Afghanistan, "Security for all - Women in the Afghan Police Forces", Asia Brief 01/2011, April 2011. Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
www.eda.admin.ch/content/dam/deza/en/documents/Laender/resource_en_201079.pdf

Videos about Afghan Women in the Police

RC South, ISAF. "Female Afghan Police - M9 Pistol Shooting".
www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOnXqA_XpRk

News Reports on Afghan Female Police

August 19, 2016. "Afghan Policewomen Proud to Serve", Institute for War & Peace. The numbers of female officers in the Afghan National Police have grown, even in an era of social prejudice.

March 4, 2015. "Female Police Face Danger in Afghanistan". Development Channel Blog, Council on Foreign Relations. The authors says we need to continue the recruitment and training of female police officers in the Afghan National Police.

March 1, 2015. "Afghan Policewomen Struggle Against Culture". By Alissa J. Rubin - The New York Times. It is more difficult than anticipated to integrate women into the Afghan police.

August 18, 2014. "Women in Afghan National Police". New Eastern Outlook (NEO). The author, Vladimir Platov, investigates the advance of women in the Afghan National Police.

July 7, 2014. "Afghan Police Academy graduates 51 female officers". ISAF News. The graduates were from two classes - one was the eight-week Initial Police Training Course (IPTC) and the other was the four-month Non-Commissioned Officer specialty training.

May 14, 2014. "Jamilia Bayaz inspires women while serving as Afghan police chief". Fayetteville Observer. Profile of an Afghan women who has served in the Afghan police for over 30 years. She has served as a district police chief in Kabul and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

January 15, 2014. "Afghanistan appoints first female police chief". BBC News Asia. Afghanistan's first female district police chief has officially started work in Kabul.

October 13, 2013. "Do Women Have Their Place in Afghan Police?". Opinion Internationale. Elizabeth Cameron explains the importance of having women in the ANP.

September 16, 2013. "Top Afghan female officer shot dead". Aljazeera. Unknown killers shot the female sub-inspector in southern Afghanistan in the latest attack targeting Afghan women in positions of authority. Two gunmen drove up on a motorcycle and shot her in the neck. Officer Negar worked in Helmand province's criminal investigation department in Laashkar Gah city.

September 10, 2013. "Afghan female police officers face uphill battle". BBC News Asia. Under the Taliban, female police officers were banned. Now, the government is trying to increase the number of women in the police force.

September 19, 2011. "Fighting is cultural, criminal for Afghan policewomen". USA Today News. This news article explores the obstacles and challenges for women in Afghanistan's police force in Zabul province.

May 5, 2011. "A vital role for women in the Afghan National Police". NATO News. In Afghanistan, women make up around half the population. However, they represent only a small proportion of the police force.

April 19, 2011. "Afghan Policewomen Share Experiences". North Shore Journal. New and veteran policewomen from districts throughout Afghanistan graduated from the Basic Afghan Uniform Police course during a ceremony in Kabul in April 2011.

December 16, 2009. "Afghan Women's Police Training Center Opens". DoD News. The first exclusive Afghan National Police Women's Police Corps Training Center was established in Jalalabad in December 2009.

December 5, 2009. "Ambassador E. Anthony Wayne's Remarks at the Opening of the Women's Police Corps Training Center". Embassy of the United States - Kabul. The ambassador attended the opening of the Jalalabad training center for police women.

Endnotes

1. For more on the stigma of being a policewomen in Afghanistan see "Fighting the stigma facing Afghanistan's women police", Oxfam International.
www.oxfam.org/en/countries/fighting-stigma-facing-afghanistans-women-police

2. For more on cultural resistance to women in the Afghan police see "Afghan Policewomen Struggle Against Culture", by Alissa J. Rubin in The New York Times, March 1, 2015. In a clash between Western ideals and Afghan realities, an effort to elevate the status of women by recruiting them to the police force has often backfired.
www.nytimes.com/2015/03/02/world/asia/afghan-policewomen-struggle-against-culture.html?smid=tw-share