The journey of the Indian women IPS officers from simple girls with big dreams to comrades to their academy comrades and officers in the toughest of the battlefields and the roughest of the terrains holds testament to the fortitude and resistance against systemic bias and societal prejudice women in law enforcement face. Often restricted to the sidelines in subordinate roles, it has never been easy for women IPS officers to carve a space for themselves in the male-dominated Indian Police Service (IPS). The nation is immensely proud of pioneering women like Kiran Bedi, Sangeeta Kalia, R. Sreelekha, Marin Joseph, and many other women IPS officers who are not only fighting a battle against crime and injustice, but also the parallelly running fight against the deep-rooted obnoxious patriarchy that questioned their choices and never hesitated from undermining their sacrifices.
The struggles each of them faced are tell-tale signs of the discrimination and challenges they faced. Let’s explore the depth of it by understanding some of the challenges women in law enforcement in India face.
Kiran Bedi: Kiran Bedi created history by becoming the first female IPS officer in India. However, instead of celebrating her remarkable feat in a male-dominated space, she was dropped from the Republic Day Parade just for being a woman. Perhaps she was perceived as a weakling who might have been selected by happenstance in the all-male cadre, and there was no way she could carry a sword and march for 14 kilometres continuously during the parade. Hence, she was thrown a challenge to prove herself by undertaking intense training at Rajpath should she want to get selected. Kiran, not being someone to take such an unjustified dismissal, decided to answer back by accepting the challenge head-on and practising the march with a sword in hand and a complete uniform in that chilling cold of Delhi.
Dr Arti Singh: Despite being from a rural setting in Uttar Pradesh, Arti Singh might or might not have directly been a victim of gender discrimination, but after the severe gender bias she witnessed around herself after graduating from the Institute of Medical Science BHU, she wanted to be the instrument of change. After joining IPS, she did not flinch an eye after getting posted to the Naxal-affected Gadhchiroli district in Maharashtra, not even when she was posted to the coronavirus-infested region of Malegaon. Despite having her career choice and capability questioned and doubted by her neighbours and relatives, multiple times, Arti proved that gender differences are nothing but the residues of despicable patriarchal chauvinism. When she decided to go to the Naxal-affected region, it was a decision that even some male officers trembled before taking, but being a woman with an indomitable spirit, Arti did not bat an eyelid before taking the challenge head-on, bewildering her subordinates and seniors and all the spokespersons of patriarchy.
Roopa Moudgil: An IPS officer from Karnataka, Roopa exposed how gender discrimination is palpable in Indian bureaucracy, albeit very subtly. When she joined the service, the number of women in the IPS force was comparatively low, yet the sense of discrimination was high enough for her to realise the huge gender gap that exists between the postings of the officers. She noticed that even the well-deserving female officers were deprived of prestigious posts only to be given to the male officers because of any hidden vested interest or power involved in the system. Being a fearless officer, she did not shirk away from stirring the hornet’s nest by claiming that the male subordinate officers felt uncomfortable and even sometimes opposed the orders given by their lady superior officers. Even a defamation lawsuit could not make her cower before the power of money and murky politics because Roopa had her honesty, courage, righteousness, and loyalty to her job and nation to back her up.
Merin Joseph: Femininity is often associated with weakness, and this has been a trend for ages as society is continuously fuelled with deep-rooted sexism and constant doubts towards the capabilities of women other than taking subordinate positions besides males. Similarly, Merin Joseph, a young IPS officer from Kerala, had to experience sexist slamming on social media for having a junior officer hold an umbrella for her during heavy rain. She was even branded as arrogant for having her juniors run errands for her. Not only that, during her posting as Assistant Superintendent of Police in the year 2014 at Ernakulam Rural, there were countless comments on social media and media reports celebrating the softness of Merin’s hands and her tender looks instead of her achievement, which was her first brush with sexism. However, Merin did not let these tendencies of objectification of women ruffle her feathers. Rather, she silenced everyone with a scathing post on her social media platform where she slammed back the shameless advocates of patriarchy who tried to measure the worth of a lady from her looks, which is nothing but demeaning of their intellect and talent only so that they could satiate the lust of their eyes.
It is high time for Indian society to understand the capabilities and contributions women can make to society and become allies, encouraging them to chase their dreams. These women IPS officers are the embodiments of the resilience that every woman needs to take inspiration from to build a progressive nation and understand they do not need validation from anyone for their competence. Rather, they should be actively supported in their missions and applauded for their sheer audacity, thereby becoming the champions of the transformation in India and the world over.
