Government of Japan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police, and UNDP Pakistan Train Women Police Officers from Merged Districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Community Policing and Gender Responsive Policing
December 19, 2023
Malam Jabba, Swat, December 18, 2023 - Funded by the Government of Japan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police and the United Nations Development Programme organized a 5-day training for 25 women police officers from the Merged Districts (MDs).. This initiative aimed to strengthen people-centered policing in MDs while enhancing the skills of women police officers to better assist gender-based violence (GBV) survivors within these areas.
Women police officers from Kurram, North Waziristan, Orakzai, Bajaur, Khyber, Mohmand, and Sub Division Hassan Khel Peshawar attended the training. The sessions covered various aspects, including gender-responsive policing, community-based approaches, gender equality, discrimination, GBV, prevention strategies, relevant laws, ICT-based harassment, workplace harassment, engagement with community forums, and the role of civil society organizations in community policing, as outlined under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police Act 2017.
The training will play a pivotal role in improving Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police’s response to GBV and build trust within the communities in MDs. Furthermore, having more women police officers in police stations in MDs will encourage more women and other marginalized people to seek assistance from the police, thereby increasing their access to justice.
From UNDP Pakistan, Ms Chamila Hemmathagama, Programme Manager, Rule of Law Programme opened the training with her welcome remarks, “I am honoured to be here today in the presence of such a diverse group of women police officers from the MDs. As women police officers, you are playing a very crucial role in transforming local policing in the MDs and in strengthening the efforts by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police to serve and protect the communities, especially the survivors of GBV in MDs. You should be proud of your invaluable services to the communities in MDs.” She also thanked the Government of Japan for their efforts to improve security sector governance in MDs and acknowledged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police for their commitment to ensuring public safety and peace in the region.
Mr. Abdul Ghafoor Afridi, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Trainings, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police underlined, “Community policing and gender-responsive policing go hand-in-hand to rid society of gender-based crimes. Serving the vulnerable communities in the best possible manner is the prime step towards a peaceful society.” He also thanked the Government of Japan and UNDP Pakistan Rule of Law Programme for their efforts in promoting community and gender-responsive policing in MDs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
In partnership with the Government of Japan, UNDP Rule of Law Programme is implementing a range of interventions to strengthen security and justice sector governance in Pakistan. This includes the development of the first-ever Policing Plans for the seven MDs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to restore people-centered, accountable, and responsive policing in the region, trained over 250 former Levies and Khasadar, newly integrated into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police on professional, people-centred police services, and established model police stations in five MDs in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two of which have already been inaugurated to further improve the security services in these districts.
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For additional information, please contact Shuja Hakim at shuja.hakim@undp.org or +92 (51) 835 5657.
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