South Asia | India | Security

India appoints first female chief to border security forces

India has appointed its first woman director of a security force that guards the country’s borders. Archana Ramasundram, who first joined the country’s police forces in 1981, was named director general of the Sashastra Seema Bal — or Armed Border Force – a paramilitary force that patrols India’s border with Nepal and Bhutan. Ramasundram, 58, ascended to the position just two years after the SSB began recruiting women with approval from the Indian government. Prior to the appointment, she led the country’s National Crime Records Bureau. In her new post she will oversee more t

South Asia | India | Security

Manohar Parrikar bats for larger role for women in Indian Coast Guard combat operations

Source: The Economic Times

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today batted for a larger role for women in combat operations in Indian Coast Guard (ICG) and said focus needs to be put on facilitating it. He also lauded the Coast Guard for imparting training to a batch of 10 women officers to operate a hovercraft. Woman personnel constitute 10 per cent of the total strength of the force, which guards the country's maritime boundary.

South Asia | India | Politics

33% reservation for women in paramilitary forces: Rajnath Singh

Source: FirstPost

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday announced 33 percent reservations would be provided for women in all paramilitary forces, including Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). Noting that women share in the force stood at just 5.04 percent, he stressed on the need to increase the number of women personnel up to one-third of the overall strength of the force. Rajnath Singh asked the CISF, which is actively involved in the developmental activities at the areas affected by left-wing extremism, to also improve its core competence in newer areas of crime such as dealing with cyber

South Asia | India | Security

Haryana gets 21 all-women police stations on Raksha Bandhan eve

Source: India Today

"All-women police stations will instill a sense of security among women. Similar police stations will also be opened in small towns and cities of the state. This concept has brought Haryana on the world map," said Khattar. "Since women could easily narrate an incident to a woman, these all-women police stations would go a long way in empowering them to report what they encountered. Each police station would have a mediation centre to take up matrimonial disputes and the office of Protection-cum-Prohibition Officer will take up cases of dowry-cum-domestic violence," he said at a gathering th

South Asia | India | Crimes

Women in India Are Turning into “Charlie’s Angels” to Fight Sexual Assault

Source: Identities.Mic

A New Delhi police force has a refreshing new tactic to combat sexual assault: a specially trained squad of karate-chopping policewomen, who hope to bring justice to the so-called "rape capital" of India. Their trainers call them "Charlie's Angels," and they're dedicated to cleaning up the capital's streets. The Angels: Led by policewoman Bharti Wadhwa and supported by Delhi police Chief Bhim Sain Bassi — who has been vocal about his commitment to Indian women's safety for years — this special unit of 40 women has been training in martial arts techniques for months. The squad's goal is

South Asia | India | Security

Mumbai: Women beat marshals can now zip around on scooties

Source: Mid-Day

Finally acknowledging the difficulties faced by women beat marshals while riding a motorcycle during patrols, the home department recently issued 50 Hero Maestros to the city police department. Police officials from the department claimed that distribution of the scooties commenced on Monday. An officer, requesting anonymity, claimed that the decision to replace motorcycles with scooties was taken after reports starting pouring in about female officers meeting with accidents while navigating their vehicles through narrow lanes. The officer further added that many women beat marshals ha

South Asia | India | Culture

Social ventures drive women to run taxis, school buses

Source: The Economic Times

Shifting gears such initiatives become crucial in cities where crimes are increasing against women and children To make the city's roads safer for women and children, a few social ventures are training women from different backgrounds to take the wheels of taxis and school buses. The women's wing at industry body Ficci is launching an initiative to bring more women into nonteaching jobs in schools, including as bus drivers, in Bengaluru and other large cities. Maruti Suzuki has committed to train 1,500 women as drivers across 15 chapters of Ficci Ladies Organization, or FLO, for free. The c

South Asia | India | Business

Security concerns lead to drop in women’s employment

Source: Pangea Today

A study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India says that the number of employment opportunities for women has decreased in the last two years. The report blames the downturn on the economic slowdown, and safety and security concerns. The female workforce declined by 26.5 percent in sectors that require night shifts and in units which are located in the outskirts of major cities. Long hours of commuting is also a factor that deters women.

South Asia | India | Culture

Delhi to make 33% of cops female to help tackle violence against women in Indian capital

Source: RT

The Indian government says one third of Delhi’s police force will be made up of women. It is the latest move to try and tackle widespread sexual abuse and violence against women in the Indian capital and hopes to make the force, ‘more gender sensitive.’ The decision, taken in a cabinet meeting chaired by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will see more women being drafted into the police force, although the move will apply to the Delhi. The move to get more women into the Delhi police force will immediately open up the possibility of between 8,000-9,000 women being recruited.