International Women's Day

Fatema Begum, pathfinder of women policing

The first female officer of the Bangladesh Civil Service Police Cadre ( PSC), Fatema Begum, now the additional inspector general of Bangladesh Police, in an exclusive interview to The Independent yesterday (Tuesday), urged parents of girls, especially in the villages, to build up their daughters as complete human beings, instead of just girls, to explore their hidden possibilities of leading the nation. The second-in-command of the police as per rank said: ‘‘I was also born in a village where there was no girls' high school. My elder brother, Sheikh Mohammad Yunus, told me that he planned to admit me to a girls' school in the town, as I was dreaming of completing higher education. Fortunately, before I completed primary education, the school became co-educational.”
Remembering her childhood at the remote village, she said: ‘‘Like boys, I used to swim in ponds and also against the tide in rivers. Normally up to a certain age, parents allow girls to play, swim and so on like the boys. But at one stage, their world becomes narrower day by day. Had I not been given the chance to complete higher education, I would not have reached the present position.”
The first female rector of the Police Staff College went on: ‘‘Despite many barriers in my early days in the force, I also got some priorities from my male colleagues. As I was the only female BCS officer, I definitely received blessings from different quarters, even from the media, which focused on me a lot. But now as there is a large number of female police officers. There is also fair competition among them.”
Replying to a question, she said: ‘‘In the given choices in the PSC form, police was not my first choice, even not second choice. As there was a trend of selecting Foreign Services as the first choice, I had also given Foreign Service as my first choice in the PSC.”
Recalling the contribution of a female member in the PSC, Dr Safia Khatun, also a former minister, she said: ‘‘She appreciated me for my desperate dream of competing with males in the male-dominated society. Actually, she played a vital role in selecting my job in the BCS police cadre. She told me later that she was interested in seeing women in all BCS caders.”
On whether the probable risk of sexual harassment in the police force has significantly decreased due to the large number of female police officers, the Adl IGP said: ‘‘First, as it is a disciplined force, the risk of being sexually harassed is much less than any other profession. I don’t think such harassment has never happened. But as there is a large number of female officers, obviously it is helpful as at least victims can complain to us. And there is a fear that if anyone sexually harasses any female police personnel, the authorities will take serious action against the person.”
Describing some of her sweet memories with the masses, especially ordinary females who sought her help, she said: ‘‘Even on a Sunday, a woman came to me claiming that her son was arrested by the police on a false allegation of eve-teasing. She told me that a person who had a dispute with them, influenced the police to arrest her son. As it was time for offering Magrib prayers, I was hesitant as a Muslim. I requested the woman to come later. She told me that she knocked at the doors of many people. But they all told her that only I could help her. Seeing her crying, I later called the officer to solve the issue.”
When this correspondent was taking the interview of Adl IGP Fatema Begum at her room in the police headquarters in the capital, a person phoned her asking for help. ‘‘Please go to the officer-in-charge of Sobujbagh police station and connect me to him,’’ she told the caller.
When asked, Fatema Begum said: ‘‘The caller is an ordinary person and sought my help saying that some goons were obstructing construction of his building in the area. In such cases, I directly talk to the OCs to save time. Because if I talk to the deputy commissioner (DC) or Adl DC, it may take some time to solve the problem. And the OCs always solve the problems thanks to my clean image in the circuit.’’
Asked how she will successfully handle her future assignments if she was appointed secretary of any ministry or ambassador by the Bangladesh government after her retirement from police service, Fatema Begum said: ‘‘Since I have gathered adequate experience during my long service in the force, I am confident I'll be able to work in the new task of the state.”
During the half an hour interview, Fatema Begum, the first special police superintend (SS) of the Special Branch (SB), told many stories of her entry into the force and how she broke traditional views against women. She also spoke about her spirit that motivated her to take up those challenges. According to her, it was not an easy path. It was a struggle against all odds and discrimination. This tale is for the young women police personnel to acknowledge their predecessors who made their journey so easy and smooth.
She joined the Bangladesh Police in the mid-1980s when, she said, women were treated differently. Her name is now uttered as the legend of women empowerment and women’s leadership.
However, her entry into the police service was not so easy and smooth. When she was selected for the police cadre, she did not get a warm welcome from the authorities, especially from the then home secretary and the then inspector general. Rather, she was discouraged. She was even not allowed to attend the orientation programme of that batch. In her batch, two females, including her, were selected in the police cadre. One of them switched to another cadre. But Fatema refused to resign from the police, determined to face the consequences bravely, threw challenges to the authorities and took a strong stance on her position to join the Bangladesh Police Academy (BPA) Sardah. After three months of her training, the then IGP, who once had disgraced and disrespected her ability on pursuing Sardah’s very rough and painstaking training, in a conversation over the phone with the then Principal of Sardah had praiseworthy words, saying "the girl can do it at the end!’.
Being a pathfinder in policing, she had to prove her quality and excellence, overriding all obstacles and stereotyped views against women.
It was indeed a challenging part for her to start in policing. It is, in fact, a message for the young female police or those who are interested in joining the force.
Fatema Begum joined the Bangladesh Police on January 21, 1986, as an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), making history by virtue of being the first BCS woman police officer. She served as ASP (HQ) Tangail. She, then, joined as ASP (Circle) Khagrachari. Being promoted to the rank of additional superintendent of police, she worked in CMP as ADC (HQ) and after that also served in Police Telecom.
She was promoted to the rank of superintendent of police and worked as SP Telecom. Then she has served as SP Thakurgaon. She has also worked as AIG (Welfare), PHQ. She worked as SS (Protection) and SS (Admin) in SB. She has served as Commandant in SB Training School and director (investigation) in RAB. She has an experience of working as DIG (Training) at the Police Headquarters and also as DIG in the Special Branch.
During the tenure in Thakurgaon, she went to Sierra Leone on a UN Peacekeeping Mission. She served there for a year. For her outstanding service to the UN Peacekeeping Mission, she was awarded Peace Medals. She went to Australia to study in Adelaide University on Environmental Study with a scholarship of AUSAID. She contributed to various journals during her study in Dhaka University and Adelaide University in Australia. She visited many countries of the world including the USA, UK, France, Australia, India, Philippines, and Qatar.
Prior to joining the Bangladesh Police, she completed her post graduation from Dhaka University in botany. She was also a student of the Central Women’s College from where she obtained graduation.
She was born in Munshiganj on April 14, 1958.

 

International Womens Day

Fatema Begum, pathfinder of women policing

The first female officer of the Bangladesh Civil Service Police Cadre ( PSC), Fatema Begum, now the additional inspector general of Bangladesh Police, in an exclusive interview to The Independent yesterday (Tuesday), urged parents of girls, especially in the villages, to build up their daughters as complete human beings, instead of just girls, to explore their hidden possibilities of leading the nation. The second-in-command of the police as per rank said: I was also born in a village where there was no girls high school. My elder brother, Sheikh Mohammad Yunus, told me that he planned to admit me to a girls school in the town, as I was dreaming of completing higher education. Fortunately, before I completed primary education, the school became co-educational. Remembering her childhood at the remote village, she said: Like boys, I used to swim in ponds and also against the tide in rivers. Normally up to a certain age, parents allow girls to play, swim and so on like the boys. But at one stage, their world becomes narrower day by day. Had I not been given the chance to complete higher education, I would not have reached the present position. The first female rector of the Police Staff College went on: Despite many barriers in my early days in the force, I also got some priorities from my male colleagues. As I was the only female BCS officer, I definitely received blessings from different quarters, even from the media, which focused on me a lot. But now as there is a large number of female police officers. There is also fair competition among them. Replying to a question, she said: In the given choices in the PSC form, police was not my first choice, even not second choice. As there was a trend of selecting Foreign Services as the first choice, I had also given Foreign Service as my first choice in the PSC. Recalling the contribution of a female member in the PSC, Dr Safia Khatun, also a former minister, she said: She appreciated me for my desperate dream of competing with males in the male-dominated society. Actually, she played a vital role in selecting my job in the BCS police cadre. She told me later that she was interested in seeing women in all BCS caders. On whether the probable risk of sexual harassment in the police force has significantly decreased due to the large number of female police officers, the Adl IGP said: First, as it is a disciplined force, the risk of being sexually harassed is much less than any other profession. I dont think such harassment has never happened. But as there is a large number of female officers, obviously it is helpful as at least victims can complain to us. And there is a fear that if anyone sexually harasses any female police personnel, the authorities will take serious action against the person. Describing some of her sweet memories with the masses, especially ordinary females who sought her help, she said: Even on a Sunday, a woman came to me claiming that her son was arrested by the police on a false allegation of eve-teasing. She told me that a person who had a dispute with them, influenced the police to arrest her son. As it was time for offering Magrib prayers, I was hesitant as a Muslim. I requested the woman to come later. She told me that she knocked at the doors of many people. But they all told her that only I could help her. Seeing her crying, I later called the officer to solve the issue. When this correspondent was taking the interview of Adl IGP Fatema Begum at her room in the police headquarters in the capital, a person phoned her asking for help. Please go to the officer-in-charge of Sobujbagh police station and connect me to him, she told the caller. When asked, Fatema Begum said: The caller is an ordinary person and sought my help saying that some goons were obstructing construction of his building in the area. In such cases, I directly talk to the OCs to save time. Because if I talk to the deputy commissioner (DC) or Adl DC, it may take some time to solve the problem. And the OCs always solve the problems thanks to my clean image in the circuit. Asked how she will successfully handle her future assignments if she was appointed secretary of any ministry or ambassador by the Bangladesh government after her retirement from police service, Fatema Begum said: Since I have gathered adequate experience during my long service in the force, I am confident Ill be able to work in the new task of the state. During the half an hour interview, Fatema Begum, the first special police superintend (SS) of the Special Branch (SB), told many stories of her entry into the force and how she broke traditional views against women. She also spoke about her spirit that motivated her to take up those challenges. According to her, it was not an easy path. It was a struggle against all odds and discrimination. This tale is for the young women police personnel to acknowledge their predecessors who made their journey so easy and smooth. She joined the Bangladesh Police in the mid-1980s when, she said, women were treated differently. Her name is now uttered as the legend of women empowerment and womens leadership. However, her entry into the police service was not so easy and smooth. When she was selected for the police cadre, she did not get a warm welcome from the authorities, especially from the then home secretary and the then inspector general. Rather, she was discouraged. She was even not allowed to attend the orientation programme of that batch. In her batch, two females, including her, were selected in the police cadre. One of them switched to another cadre. But Fatema refused to resign from the police, determined to face the consequences bravely, threw challenges to the authorities and took a strong stance on her position to join the Bangladesh Police Academy (BPA) Sardah. After three months of her training, the then IGP, who once had disgraced and disrespected her ability on pursuing Sardahs very rough and painstaking training, in a conversation over the phone with the then Principal of Sardah had praiseworthy words, saying the girl can do it at the end!. Being a pathfinder in policing, she had to prove her quality and excellence, overriding all obstacles and stereotyped views against women. It was indeed a challenging part for her to start in policing. It is, in fact, a message for the young female police or those who are interested in joining the force. Fatema Begum joined the Bangladesh Police on January 21, 1986, as an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), making history by virtue of being the first BCS woman police officer. She served as ASP (HQ) Tangail. She, then, joined as ASP (Circle) Khagrachari. Being promoted to the rank of additional superintendent of police, she worked in CMP as ADC (HQ) and after that also served in Police Telecom. She was promoted to the rank of superintendent of police and worked as SP Telecom. Then she has served as SP Thakurgaon. She has also worked as AIG (Welfare), PHQ. She worked as SS (Protection) and SS (Admin) in SB. She has served as Commandant in SB Training School and director (investigation) in RAB. She has an experience of working as DIG (Training) at the Police Headquarters and also as DIG in the Special Branch. During the tenure in Thakurgaon, she went to Sierra Leone on a UN Peacekeeping Mission. She served there for a year. For her outstanding service to the UN Peacekeeping Mission, she was awarded Peace Medals. She went to Australia to study in Adelaide University on Environmental Study with a scholarship of AUSAID. She contributed to various journals during her study in Dhaka University and Adelaide University in Australia. She visited many countries of the world including the USA, UK, France, Australia, India, Philippines, and Qatar. Prior to joining the Bangladesh Police, she completed her post graduation from Dhaka University in botany. She was also a student of the Central Womens College from where she obtained graduation. She was born in Munshiganj on April 14, 1958.