Chandigarh/Jalandhar, August 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A year-long collaborative training programme aimed at gender sensitisation and mainstreaming women in the Punjab Police concluded on Thursday at the Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Police Academy (MRSPPA), Phillaur, with senior officials and experts urging women personnel to seek greater leadership and operational roles.
The initiative was jointly conducted by the Punjab Police, research organisation Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) and Hartek Foundation. The third and final day of Round-III focused on Group T1, the women-only cohort comprising Punjab Police Mahila Mittars posted at Women Helpdesks across the state.
The concluding session was addressed by Resident/National Editor (North) of The Indian Express, Manraj Grewal Sharma, who was the chief guest. Sharing her own experience of entering journalism when it was largely male-dominated, Sharma told the participating women personnel that sustained effort was essential to achieving professional excellence.
She stressed that the additional effort often separates exceptional performance from the ordinary and encouraged women police personnel to confidently claim their professional space. She also urged them to speak up against inappropriate gender-based remarks and attitudes at the workplace.
Special DGP, Community Affairs Division (CAD), Gurpreet Kaur Deo said initiatives of this scale were important for integrating women personnel into the mainstream of the 80,000-strong Punjab Police with dignity and equality. Women currently constitute around 11 per cent of the force, she said.
Deo urged women officers to build their careers on competence, professionalism, persistence and confidence. She encouraged them to move beyond administrative assignments, volunteer for challenging field duties and seek frontline leadership positions, including postings as Station House Officers (SHOs).
She also highlighted the Community Affairs Division’s work on domestic violence, including the Saanjh Rahat Kendra project. A 15-minute documentary on domestic violence was screened during the programme.
Deo said such evidence-based interventions were part of efforts to develop an inclusive and future-ready police force capable of responding to challenges including cybercrime, proxy terrorism, organised gangster networks and drug abuse.
Former Maharashtra-cadre DGP Meeran Chadha Borwankar recalled her experiences as a woman police officer in the early 1980s, when she was the only woman officer in the 1981 IPS batch. She also shared findings from research conducted with Pune University on the satisfaction levels of women police officials in the Maharashtra Police.
Former Punjab DGP RC Singh spoke about his experience with the United Nations and its policy of having 50 per cent women representation. He also recalled his tenure as a supportive superior, saying he assigned women officers equally challenging responsibilities and provided logistical support to help them perform their duties.
Deo also felicitated 51 Master Trainers for their role in implementing the cascading training model across Punjab.
The wider impact-assessment initiative trained around 1,500 police personnel from 384 jurisdictional police stations across the state. It began with a Training of Trainers programme for 51 Master Trainers in December 2025, followed by two district-level rounds in early 2026 and the concluding three-day academy-level Round-III.
J-PAL will now conduct the final endline survey to assess the initiative’s longer-term impact on institutional attitudes and community policing practices.
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