Women make up less than three percent of Pakistan’s police force, leading to issues like underreporting of violence against women and inadequate investigation of gender crimes. This lack of representation has also resulted in legal noncompliance, miscarriage of justice, and a growing distrust towards the police, as highlighted in a recent report. Pakistan ranks 145th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, showcasing significant gender inequality.
The report further reveals that neighboring countries in South Asia have significantly higher percentages of women in their police forces compared to Pakistan. For instance, Nepal has 11.73 percent, Sri Lanka 11.5 percent, and Bangladesh around 8.63 percent of women police personnel. Even India, with 12.60 percent female police staff, surpasses Pakistan in this aspect. This disparity has hindered efforts to combat crimes like domestic violence and sexual harassment.
Notably, the low representation of women in Pakistan’s police force has serious implications for law and order and justice issues in the country, according to a policy brief by ‘Accountability Lab Pakistan’. The document emphasizes that with only 3 percent of women in the police, Pakistan faces one of the lowest levels of female representation globally. This imbalance affects the handling of gender-based crimes, including domestic violence and sexual offenses.
The report highlights the stark gender disparities in different provinces of Pakistan, with women constituting only 2.62 percent of the police force in Sindh, 1.46 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 1.74 percent in Balochistan. Even in politically dominant Punjab, where women make up 4.4 percent of the police force, challenges persist. The situation is particularly concerning in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, where women represent only 2.48 percent and 3.36 percent of police personnel, respectively.
Expressing grave concerns over the inadequate representation of women in law enforcement and the lack of legal accountability, researcher Furqan Ali from Peshawar highlighted the abysmally low conviction rates for gender-based crimes in Pakistan. With conviction rates as low as 0.5 percent for rape and honor killings, 0.1 percent for abduction, and 1.3 percent for domestic violence, the institutional imbalance due to the minimal presence of women in the police force significantly impacts the handling of such cases.
