“Police force was a male dominated force, everything was designed keeping a flat chested male in mind however we are getting there” - ADG Renuka Mishra

New Delhi, February 25

Additional DGP Renuka Mishra, Police Recruitment and Promotion Board and Nodal Officer for Mission Shakti in Uttar Pradesh Police talks about equality, gender sensitization and women police in a webinar ‘Getting to Equal’ organized by BW Businessworld and Sipping Thoughts.

ADG Mishra addressed the note saying that why do women even want to be equal to some men when they are above some of them.

She said, “I was told Renuka is above any male officer. Why could I be less? We are constantly making comparison. My daughter is not lesser than my son. It is supposed to be a compliment but I never thought about it as a compliment. We need to first ask that are men and women born with these qualities or we are rather trained to acquire them and create a loop for generations to come to be like that. Sex is biological while gender is a social construct”.

We tend to take these socialization process with us when we enter into different professions. We respond to these situations accordingly whether it’s a policy or issue or an infrastructure you are making or what you are inventing becomes colored by a socialization process.

Men have been expressing why it is always about women, domestic violence, rape and even men face violence, harassment, so it’s not only about women. Article 15 (3) of the constitution of India gives the power to discriminate positively in favour of women. When there is something that is deprived from generations, the Constitution has provided had provided to provide for women because that is what is required. The Constitution has given fundamental rights to equality to all alike.

Have you as employer told your subordinates that I as a superior believe in equality of all rules and provisions of employment for both genders. Have you had bosses you didn’t want to be in the same room as you as they feared that you might complaint about sexual harassment or avoided giving you some work based on your position as they wanted to protect themselves from the internal community.

Has the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 led to inclusion or has it led to further exclusion? There was a DG whom I went to meet for work and he said since it’s you I am sitting in this chamber but had it been someone else I would have called four or five others to be present in the room. Since when did we become such dangerous people?

The act was supposed to lead to mainstreaming. Equality is giving same platform to both men and women. Equality means same for all and same even for different people. What we are looking for is equity.

We have to leverage each other and strengths, control and get over our weaknesses. During one of our National Conference for women in police in 2016 by BPR&D, I had done a presentation on creating gender sensitive environment and policies. We realised that until we are sensitive towards women in our organization, we cannot be the same for other women.

The population of women police is around 8% but it’s increasingly slowly. When I went to my first district, people came to just see me. It was a male dominated profession and everything designed for police was done keeping a flat chested male in mind whether it’s a bullet proof vest, riot control equipment, lathi, size of the weapon. When females came to the police force they didn’t bother to change the provision and procurement.

However, now the police are designing countered bullets, sanitation, barracks, transport and equipments. We did our own survey and found out that the women police don’t even drink water before going on election duty for 24 hours as they don’t have a place to urinate. During the parades, women don’t drink water and faint however it’s said she is weak hence fainted.

We found lot of women with urinary infections. The reason behind that was more shocking. They didn’t have place to dry underclothes in the police barracks. They used to hide it under towels to prevent embarrassment. Their damp underclothes gave them urinary infections.

There were new mothers who couldn’t express milk because there was no way they could feed. If we are looking for equity we have to provide for all this. It doesn’t take much to provide a bus with a toilet in it on duties. Women will get married and have children and why do you hold it against them?

We get two years of childcare leave so I took it finally during my child’s 10thstandard. My boss told me that IPS officers don’t take childcare leave. He said when his son was giving board exams he was posted in Kashmir. I told him that since you have a wife at home you did not need to be there but since I am the wife at my home, I need also need to be there.

The conference was attended by the then women and child Minister Maneka Gandhi who was present during the survey presentation, took it up at the Centre and taken Anupriya Patel in the Parliament, the MHA formed a committee and they started looking at procurement differently.

Now, they are countoured bullet proof vest. We protested against the white trousers as boys used to practice in shorts so on our demand, we got track pants. Many women face problems during menstruation and since I am an officer, I have a toilet, I could wash it and wear it back. However, the women constables manage it. So we suggested to sanitary napkin dispensers.

However, the sweepers were refusing to clean women washrooms as dustbins had no lids on it. These are simple basic things of provision for a women.

A man is assessed on his potential to perform but a woman is assessed on her actual performance. When woman is assertive, you look at her as aggressive. Women also have the issue of likebility and they have to tone themselves down and say, “Bhaiyya yeh kar dijiye” to get work done. It is a pain to adjust yourself? This is not equality.

To think that only women can be sensitive towards women issues sanctions the insensitivity of the male colleagues. A woman police is not in the force to work for women. The belief that women will comfortable talking to only women police is also wrong because it’s not the man who scares her, it’s the atmosphere of the police station.

The policemen at the police station ask objectionable questions to girls and blame their clothes for any incident.

Mishra mentioned an infant girl’s rape case in Agra where she was posted as ASP and said, “When the couple laid the child on my table and I lifted her frock, the condition was so bad that there was nothing left over there. What clothes did she wear for the man to get excited to rape her?

Similarly, in a relationship with a boy even if the girl had physical relation with him for 20 times but at the 21sttime when she said no and yet forced, she has the right to complain. Even a sex worker if she doesn’t want to have sex with the client she has the right to say a no.

During one of the DG Conferences in a naxal affected state, one of the officers stated that there is 33% reservation of women so many women recruits would join and so we will see the kind of work given to women. We will out them on wireless, control room, postal and other duties. I stood up and spoke in front of the Prime Minister that when naxals employ women in their cadre and 45% of naxal cadre are women, why do police have a problem giving actual police duty to women?

The PM while mentioning a powerful example of Gujarat’s Gir forest gave a message to all officers and stated that many lions were found dying in Gir forest. He changed the entire staff and kept only women there. The women were driving the lions out feed them to giving them injections. The lion deaths stopped and same was covered by the BBC.

Similarly, the putting onus on women for their own security is not right. Self defence is not just for women it’s for both. If my son is not frightened to go out why a woman should? Why the women had to go through the trauma of explaining of what happened? 90 to 98% of perpetration of violence on women are done by men so why are men not in the conversation? Why do we call it a just women’s issue?

We teach our daughters to say No but have we taught our sons how to take No for an answer? Since childhood we have not explained since childhood, it doesn’t work. We also tell young boys not to cry. If he doesn’t cry it will come out somewhere and brings out aggression. If an empowered girl says a No, he abuses and gets aggressive.

There are so many NGOs who claim to work on women issues but are these NGOs teaching anything to men? You can't be an innocent bystander, you have to be an active bystander. People are just sniggering and laughing on social media and doing nothing more.

We are therefore sensitizing the men in police to mend ways and participate in an integrated system for all. Earlier, when women employees requested to work from home, we looked down upon them but during the pandemic online webinars meetings, work for home became possible. It was always possible but treated as an "excuse for women "earlier in office environments.

She advised women, “I will not allow that which is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my control. If I want to be a doormat, people will come and wipe feet. I am going to stay in my power and I am going to be the way I am. Be who you are and remain how you will be. Do it if it helps someone but not to devalue yourself!”

ADG Mishra is a 1990 batch IPS officer who had also headed the Sahastra Seema Bal taining academy in Gwaldham.Mission Shakti spearheads the initiative focused on women’s safety, security, dignity and self-reliance. She actively works to make the voice of every woman heard.

She has received many awards including the Indian Police Medal for Meritorious Services, President's Police Medal for Distinguished Services, High Altitude medal, Foreign Service and UN peacekeeping medal as well as7 silver and golden Director General Commendation Discs over the course of her career.