In the year 2000, when Shakti Devi, went against the wishes of her father by choosing to become a police inspector, she was sure she would one day make her father proud. Fourteen years later, she not only did her father proud but her country too, having received the prestigious international female peacekeeper award of the UN’s police division for her exceptional achievements with the UN Mission in Afghanistan.
An MSc in Mathematics, MA in Political Science and BEd later, Shakti, now 42, qualified for the competitive test for police as Sub-Inspector in 2000 and has been serving in the Jammu and Kashmir Police since.
Currently deployed with the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), Inspector Shakti Devi has been recognised for her “efforts towards helping victims of sexual and gender-based violence, establishment of Women Police Councils in several parts of Afghanistan, contributing to the improvement of the status of female police and effectively helping the police of Afghanistan move towards achieving their goals of fully adopting democratic principles of policing”.
She received the award at the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) conference held in the last quarter of 2014 in Winnipeg, Canada. The award aims at promoting an understanding of police in peace operations throughout the world, highlighting the efforts of female police in global peace operations, increasing understanding of the roles of women officers in various countries and encouraging participation in UN peace operations by all countries of the world.
“As Police Advisor in the UN mission in Afghanistan, community policing is one of my prime responsibilities and I have tried to bridge the gap between the community and police. Community Consultation and Police and Safety Outreach Activities for School Children under the Afghan Democratic Policing Project are examples of democratic policing in Afghanistan,” she says.
“I worked towards giving women police in Afghanistan the dignity of their position and responsibilities, and their role in the Presidential election was widely appreciated by the government and the authorities there. Presently, the strength of women police is around 1,800 which is being planned to be enhanced to 5,000 soon,’’ says Shakti who has been deployed in the Western region, Herat. She has been closely working with the family response unit which is how she got a chance to meet victims of violence and dealt with their cases. “I remember an incident where a police woman was abused and assaulted by male colleagues in which I interfered and raised concern with the mission leadership. The accused official was removed from his position and the leadership assured the women police a safe and secure working environment,’’ explains Shakti.
On being asked about how she was selected for the peacekeeping mission, the inspector says she was nominated by the State police and got selected after UN SAAT test conducted by UN Police Division, New York, among other Indian Police officers in 2010. ‘’I was deployed in UNMIT (Timor-Leste) in 2012 and from Timor-Leste I was selected for Afghanistan among two other Filipino police officers which was an honour for me. India is one of the largest contributors to the peacekeeping mission around the world and after two years, there are rotational vacancies for UNPOL (police).’’
Speaking about the response she got from the general public of Afghanistan, Shakti feels blessed and lucky to have got respect and love from the people in Afghanistan and from other countries and to have successfully achieved her mission mandate. “I was sent to Afghanistan for one year but got an extension for another, which will end this May. Though my mission leadership wants me to stay for a year more on extension, I am not sure if I will, as I want to go back and serve my people in India,’’ says Shakti.
Asked if life in the Kashmir valley is safe for people, and women in particular, she says, “Yes, of course and I think women are more respected and safe in the state than anywhere else. While working in the women’s police station in Jammu for almost two-and-a-half years, I did have to deal with more than 3,000 complaints of crimes against women. But crimes against women take place everywhere, it is how we deal with it and punish the guilty that matters. As a police officer I have carried out my responsibility well by addressing the complaints in the best possible way,’’ says Shakti, who feels every police officer is bound to maintain law and order and provide a safe environment to people under their jurisdiction.
Though her father wanted her to pursue a career in teaching, she was highly inspired by Kiran Bedi and decided to follow in her footsteps. “I wanted to serve people. As a child I never thought I would be in the police. It was only during college that I decided to get into Police service. My purpose was clear that only if I join the police force can I contribute to the society in the best possible way, as police is always considered an authority. I can get things moving in the right direction easily. I wanted to contribute to the needy,’’ explains the inspector who is a sports enthusiast and loves playing volleyball. She has played volleyball at the national level during her college days with an eye on joining the police.
Belonging to a remote village in the J&K, Shakti’s father, felt that given her lower middle class upbringing she should not take the risk of joining the tough job of a police officer. “I had also never thought about a career goal. But once I decided to join, my mind was set,” she says. Her father relented but made Shakti promise that she would always work for the betterment of the country. “He made me pledge that I would never do anything wrong, like accepting bribes or harassing people. I have always tried to be true to my job and I always remember my father and the promise I made to him. So I am sure I can never do anything unjust,” says Shakti who feels serving in the Police force is as difficult for a woman as a man. “I think to serve in police is difficult for both for male and female officers. I am lucky to have wonderful seniors who always encouraged me even during my training days as well as my probationary period. I was adjudged the best outdoor cadet in basic induction training among a batch of 272 officers with all boys except five women officers.”
She was working in her 12th year as the Station House officer when she was sent on the UN mission. Passionate about the work she does with dedication and zeal, Shakti feels proud, happy and content about her decision today to join the police. “I am more than happy with my work in my home country as well as in peacekeeping mission. I accepted my assignment in Afghanistan as a challenge and I am happy that I was rewarded for it. Though my family members were initially worried about my assignment away from the country due to security issues, I kept assuring them that I am safe in Afghanistan. All their apprehensions ended when they heard that I was awarded for my contribution to the peacekeeping force. Today, they are proud and happy too,’’ concludes Shakti.
Shakti has also received the UN peace medal Afghanistan and Timor-Leste, Timor-Leste Solidarity Medal (Awarded by President of East Timor), Director General’s police medal, Director’s Trophy for best cadet during basic induction training at the J&K Police Academy, Udhampur.
Shakti says it’s very important for girls to choose to get into the police services because the country needs them. “More and more girls should choose this service to serve the nation and help the needy and suffering lot. Girls can better understand the problems of girls,’’ she says, encouraging more women to join the force.
— kasturi@newindianexpress.com
