Sergeant Zarghona Mohabat: “A woman knows other womans problems” Kabul, August, 2014. On a sunny afternoon a sobbing and upset woman in burga goes around in Police District 16 in Kabul to find a female police officer. She could talk to a male police officer, but she feels she need to talk to another woman. When she meets Sergeant Zarghona Mohabat sitting behind her desk, she can finally share her worries. The crying woman demands the release of her two sons who were brought to the Police District (PD) after a physical fight with their neighbors. Sergeant Zarghona knows how to communicate with her. Very nicely and in kind words Sergeant Zarghona assures the woman that after the investigation her sons will be released if they were innocent. Sergeant Zarghona has always encouraged her colleagues to treat people nicely and behave properly when approaching them. When communicating with the distraught woman she puts into practice what she preaches for others. Sergeant Zarghona works at PD 16 as a computer operator but that is not her only task. She has organised plenty of Police-e Mardume (Community Policing) outreach programmes for the girls’ schools and women’s parks to build close relationship between police and the citizens in her PD. “I have visited all the girls’ schools in PD 16 to encourage them to join the police. Apart from that, I shared the police districts’ contact numbers with them to call us in case of emergency.” In the area of Police District 16 there are a number of cases related to violence against women. Sergeant Zarghona tells about a case of girl maltreated by her male relatives: “A girl who didn’t have a father wanted to work but she was not allowed by her brother and uncle. She was beaten by her family. We were informed about the issue and I had to go to her house. I found her unconscious and immediately took her to the hospital. Then we solved the case and now she isn’t in danger anymore.” The small number of female police within the ANP is a major problem in Afghanistan. At the moment out of 157,000 police force, 1,800 are female police working in Afghanistan. According to the Afghan Ministry of Interior’s plan, the number should increase to 10,000 by the end of this year. Sergeant Zarghona believes a woman knows another woman’s problems. “I ask the Afghan families to encourage their daughters to join the police. There is a huge need for female police in Afghanistan. We try to change the perception of people about the police. I have always told the women I meet in PD 16 that police is your friend, we are here to help you.” Sergeant Zarghona recently received a Best Practice certificate for her best performance in terms of community policing in PD 16 by Kabul City Police and EUPOL. “I feel proud I received this certificate. This is a big motivation for us. In my duty, I will be at service of my country, my people and my family.” Website: eupol-afg.eu/?q=node/547
Posted on: Sat, 23 Aug 2014 04:26:06 +0000
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