PESHAWAR: Zobia Mussarrat expresses pride in being the first female duty officer at a police station in the city of Kohat in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.
She tends to the station’s financial and administrative matters, monitors the weapons depot, arranges food for locked-up suspects, and looks after the section where seized goods and money are kept.
Mussarrat graduated from Allama Iqbal Open University, and joined the police force in 2009. She has three children, and her husband is also part of the police department.
Mussarrat said it was always her passion to join the police. Since joining the station as duty officer in May 2018, she has resolved at least a dozen cases, most of them related to domestic violence and theft.
“We encourage people to resolve their problems without going to court. A large number of women have started approaching our police station in recent weeks, since they know there’s a female duty officer here,” she told Arab News on Tuesday.
Zobia Mussarrat says she enjoys her job as duty officer as women are more forthcoming with her. (AN photo)
“These women share all sorts of information with me. Previously, many of them were reluctant to visit police stations, even when they had genuine grievances.”
Kohat’s former District Police Officer Abbas Majeed Marwat said officials in his department had held an exam to recruit a suitable duty officer, and Mussarrat came top.
“The aim of her appointment was to give equal opportunity to women in the force as well. Normally, our duty officers are all men,” he told Arab News.
“Her appointment has encouraged female complainants to approach the police station in greater numbers and seek resolution of their problems.”
Kohat’s Superintendent Jamil Akhtar said other women are undergoing training. “Once they complete their training, they will be deputed as duty officers at various police stations,” he added.
“We believe a female duty officer can handle issues facing women and children better, since female complainants are more willing to share information about their problems with them than with male police personnel.”
KP police has increased the role of women in recent months. A patrol force in the provincial capital Peshawar was established in 2016.
Deputy Superintendent Usman Khan said the team’s two female commandos and their male colleagues patrol the streets and help women and children in emergency cases.
“We have more female commandos on standby, and will call them whenever their services are required,” he said.
