Winning over all odds, Manisha Rupeta, Pakistan’s first Hindu woman deputy superintendent of police (DSP), is thrilled to prove all the apprehensions of her relatives wrong. Now she has only one goal: to become the ‘guardian of women’ by taking charge of the feminist campaign and to promote gender equality in a patriarchal society. Rupeta, 26, from Jacobabad in the remote Sindh province, believes women are the targets of many crimes and that they are the “most oppressed” society in male-dominated Pakistan.
Rupeta had passed the Sindh Public Service Commission exam last year. She ranked 16th in the merit list of 152 successful candidates. She is undergoing training and will be posted as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in the crime-hit area of Lyari.
“My sisters and I have seen from childhood the old system of patriarchy where girls are told that if they want to be educated and work, they can only become teachers or doctors,” she said.
Rupeta, who hails from a middle-class family, said she wants to dispel the notion that girls from good families should avoid joining police service or working in district courts.
“Women are the most oppressed and they are the victims of many crimes in our society. I joined the police because I think we need a woman protector in our society.
Pakistan is considered one of the worst countries in the world for women due to cases of physical and sexual violence against women, honor killings and forced marriages.
A few years ago, the World Economic Forum’s ‘Global Gender Index’ had placed Pakistan in third place from the bottom. Pakistan was ranked 151 among 153 countries.
According to another report by ‘Aurat Foundation’, a Pakistani non-governmental organization (NGO) working for women’s rights, about 70 percent of women in the country have been victims of domestic violence at least once in their lives. This violence is usually done by their husbands.
Rupeta believes that her work as a senior police officer will empower and empower women. “I want to lead a feminist campaign and promote gender equality in the police force,” she said. I myself have always been very inspired by the role of the police force.
All three of Rupeta’s sisters are doctors and her younger daughter is studying medicine. His father was a businessman in Jacobabad. She died when Rupeta was 13 years old.
She was raised by her mother, who moved to Karachi with her children after the death of her husband.
Rupeta said, “It was not normal for girls to pursue higher education in my hometown and when their relatives came to know that she was joining the police force, they thought that she would not be able to stay in such a difficult profession for long. . But I have proved them wrong.
He said it is not easy being in a senior position in the Sindh Police and getting ‘on-field’ training at a place like Lyari.
Prior to Rupeta, Pushpa Kumari from Umerkot district had also passed a similar test and joined the Sindh Police as the first Hindu assistant sub-inspector.
