PESHAWAR: Shazia Ishaq says she would study for eight to nine hours at a stretch every day last year, driven by a dream to clear Pakistan’s prestigious Central Superior Services (CSS) exams and join the police force.

Today, the 25-year-old resident of Chitral, a remote, mountainous district in northwestern Pakistan, has made history by becoming the first woman police officer “not only in Chitral but the entire Malakand division” of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP), after being selected for the elite Police Service of Pakistan (PSP).

“You can’t imagine how happy I was when I cleared the CSS examination,” Ishaq told Arab News over the phone from Chitral.

“It was my long-standing dream to become a police officer. By the grace of God and the prayers of my parents, I’m the first female police officer not only from Chitral but the entire Malakand division,” she added.

Ishaq boils it down to her positive thinking and a passion to “convert every challenge into an opportunity.”

“Most people in Chitral say girls can’t clear the CSS, but I dispelled that notion and converted the challenge into an opportunity,” she said, encouraging other women “to try their luck and tackle this challenge too.”

Surrounded by some of the world’s most magnificent and picturesque mountains, Chitral is popular among tourists for its natural beauty and unique culture. Still, opportunities for women are few and far between.

According to the 2017 census, the district’s total population is 447,362, including 221,515 women. Residents speak Khowar or Chitrali, the most widely used language in the area, and Urdu.

A former headmistress at a government-run school in her hometown of Junali Koch, a hamlet in the upper Chitral district, Ishaq is the eldest of five children.

After completing her early education in Junali Koch, she earned a Bachelors of Science degree from the Islamia College University in Peshawar, the capital of KP, in 2018, before preparing for the CSS.

Her father, Rehmat Ishaq, a retired junior officer of the Pakistan Army, said his happiness knew no bounds when he learnt of his daughter getting selected for the PPS.

“Shazia’s success is one of the happiest moments of my life. I can’t express it in words,” Rehmat told Arab News, adding that news of Ishaq’s appointment had “traveled across his village, with congratulatory messages pouring in every day.”

Next, Ishaq intends to “undergo a few months of intense training from October” to be officially deputed to a district.

“I’ll now formally take charge as Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) after undergoing a few months of rigorous training from October,” she said.

It’s a rare win for women in the remote district where gender-based violence often goes unreported due to social stigma. It is considered taboo for women to file a case against domestic abuse or harassment.

Rehmat Khan, additional inspector general police (retired), told Arab News that Ishaq’s appointment in the police force would “offer a ray of hope” for many women in the region who find it difficult to interact with male officers.

“Shazia’s induction in the police force is a humble beginning and will usher in an era of women empowerment,” he said as it would encourage others “to take up unconventional jobs” in a patriarchal society as well.

He added that Pakistan’s police force is in “dire needs of a gender balance.”

According to the National Police Bureau’s (NPB) 2017 data, there are 391,364 police personnel across the country, with women making up only 1.8 percent of the force.

“Comparatively, women’s problems can be better tackled by a female officer,” Khan said.

Ishaq said she is “aware of the challenges ahead” and opted to join the police force “partly to help women in Chitral,” where lack of employment and education opportunities often result in a systemic cycle of abuse for many.

According to White Ribbon, an organization that focuses on Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG), nearly 60 to 70 percent of Pakistani women have been subjected to some form of abuse or another.

It further reported a 20 percent increase in cases in recent years, with one out of five women subjected to domestic abuse.

“In Chitral, suicide due to domestic violence is a serious issue of concern among women which needs immediate attention to eradicate it,” Ishaq said.

“Women need more awareness because they are the main drivers of social change. We need a collective approach to ward off such evils from society.”