Woman in Uniform

Gender equality is one of the prerequisites for  social progress. The experiences of women police officers broadly illustrate their dedication to contribute to the society and fight against crime, as well as their struggle against common prejudices and stereotypes. One such woman officer is Deepti Jadhav, who is a police constable Pune city police. She shared the story of challenges and   experiences   to VUCCD.

Amitava Basu ( BA Second Year  Student)

Q : Hello, good morning madam. I welcome you for this conversation.  Can you tell us the motivation behind joining the police force? Did you get inspired by an event  or incident which brought you here?

Deepti Jadhav :  Serving my country, community was my biggest motivation to join the Police force.  It is not a preferred choice for many women. This requires courage and commitment towards the society and also the passion to protect the vulnerable in the society. This  journey  is  not only restricted to physical strength but also requires mental resilience.

Q :  Madam, was there any incident which reaffirmed your commitment  and proved your decision to join force was the right one?

Deepati Jadhav : When we were heading towards Gadchiroli, a district in Maharashtra a bomb blast took place almost near our car, many of our police officers, constables got badly injured and some were almost on the verge of losing their lives, our team was also injured but we tried and carried the injured to the nearby hospital as soon as possible, it was one of my biggest and dreadful experience There are comes many challenges  in our journey.  I stood with my colleague and performed my duties. Gender is secondary when you’re with dedication and for a larger goal.

Q : The gendered infrastructure and working environment is an important factor. Would you like to share your experience?

Deepti  Jadhav : Yes, we get facilities that one woman police officer should get like during training, gender sensitivity training, maternity leaves, we have many facilities. We get flexible working hours and the working hours are almost the same as the men. In case of any emergency then we have to work extra hours but the time is flexible and well facilitated.We do all activities like our male  counterparts.

Q : Don’t you  think that  by giving women related cases to women officials is gender reinforcement  of stereotypes?

Deepti Jadhav : No, we almost share all the cases equally.

Q : Can you shed light on your experience as a traffic officer? Is there any difference between male and female officers handling the traffic related issues.?

Deepati Jadhav : The power of the uniform stays the same  irrespective of gender and, there is no scope of disrespecting or misbehaving with  female officers.