In the history of the Mughalpura Railway Police Station, Nausheen Kanwal is the first female station house officer (SHO).
Although she is the 66th station house officer (SHO) since the police station’s founding in 1982, she is the only woman on the long list of SHOs. From the Lahore Railway Station to the Wagah Railway Station, she controls the beat.
“I’m glad to have created history. I’m glad to announce that I received this job because of my acting, not because of my gender, she added.
Since joining the force in 2014, Sub-Inspector Nausheen Kanwal has been in charge of the criminal records office. She was hired in 2020 to teach law, but she now manages the police station.
She claims that since she became the SHO, both her male and female coworkers have become more competitive. There are other additional women employed by the railway police in addition to her.
While Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Saman Mukhtar is in charge of the support desk at the Lahore Railway Station, Constable Aneela Raheem is in charge of the help desk at the Rawalpindi Railway Station.
The records from the railway police show that there are now 300 women working for the railway police. In the force, there are 7,300 authorized positions; 4,600 of those are currently filled.
A representative for the railways predicted that over time, more policewomen in uniform will be visible at railroad facilities.
In the past, it was common practise to place female officials in desk-related positions or to have them regularly carry out official duties like record keeping. But the tendency is now shifting.
Inspector Naila Ashraf is currently an inspector at the Central Diesel Locomotive Station after serving as the acting DSP in Rawalpindi for a few months. Inspector Tayyaba works in the field at Rawalpindi’s central station, and SI Sidra is an investigator for the Havelian Railway Police.
A representative for Pakistan Railways Inspector General (IG) Rao Sardar Ali Khan stated that the organisation has a policy that encourages women to work in the industry.
He adds that a comprehensive strategy has been devised for the women police employees to play a proactive role in the force, adding that passengers have begun noticing the presence of female police officials at train stations. Nowadays, there are two teams of female police officers on duty in every major train station. Safar Saheli, a digital app, has been introduced to help police gather reports of harassment at train terminals and aboard trains, since it is essential for women travellers’ safety. Similar to how it is done on aeroplanes, a SI and two constables who are both females give the female passengers safety instructions before they board the train.
For female travellers or those who are on the rail property, Nasuheen Kanwal has a word of caution. “Remember that any crime or unanticipated event can happen anywhere, at any time.”
She believes that the best defence is to reserve a seat in advance and to have one’s emergency contact information and medical history in one’s pocket or luggage.
Since I took over as SHO last month, no crimes have been reported in my beat, therefore there is no need to be concerned, she claims.
The effective operations, according to Nausheen, are due to her field attentiveness and her comrades’ willingness to jump into action anytime they hear a request for help.
