KOCHI: For the first time, four of Kochi City’s 23 law-and-order police stations have women officers as the station house officer (SHO), signalling a gradual shift in women’s representation at the station level.
While SI Shahina K has been posted as the SHO of Maradu police station, SI Geethumol S is the SHO of Mattancherry police station. Reshma V R and K Anila have been posted as SHOs of the Hill Palace and Vanitha police stations, respectively.
“For nearly 10 years, SHOs were generally of inspector rank. Women officers recruited since 2017 were of SI level, which was one reason why there were fewer women SHOs. This is the first time we are seeing women SIs taking charge as SHOs in these stations,” says Aswathy Jiji, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Kochi City.
Geethumol, who took charge last month, was previously an SI at Aroor police station. “I mainly dealt with cases involving women and children. As an SHO, there is now an opportunity to interact more closely with the public and take decisions and act on station-level matters,” she said.
K Anila held additional charge at Vanitha police station be fore taking charge as its SHO “I want to ensure that matters concerning women and children are handled effectively and make the Vanitha police station more approachable to everyone.
We have also requested the commissioner to consider increasing the station’s strength,” she said. The cases reaching the station, Anila said, range from complaints of cruelty by husbands and harassment in live-in relationships to disputes over rent, non-payment of wages and harassment by former partners.
For Reshma V R, the move from the Women Cell to Hill Palace Police Station marks a transition from primarily handling complaints to taking responsibility for the wider policing mandate. “With Onam approaching, law and order is a major priority, along with Onam-related duties. I was previously working in the Women Cell, where we mainly dealt with complaints,” she said.
Reshma served at Hill Palace station for two years as SI before moving to the Women Cell. She said the station would continue implementing government directives, including measures like Operation Toofan, while giving prioritising law-and-order duties during the festive season.
At Maradu, Shahina K said her aim is to work without creating the impression that things have changed simply because a woman has taken charge. “I served for two years at the Central police station and two years at Kadavanthra. Recently, I worked in the Cyber unit for about two weeks. I want to contribute to the best of my capacity. I do not have any particular focus other than doing my job well,” she said.
