International Muslim Police Women Conference

After the previous evening's exciting opening ceremony with overflow crowds, the first day of the first ever International Islamic Police Women's Conference started with prayers sung by female qari Fatima. The theme for the days was 'Professionalization of Islamic Police Women'. The co-chairs for the proceedings were Colonel Shafika, chief of staff to the commander of uniformed police, and parliamentarian and poet Safia Siddiqi.

The keynote speaker for the morning was Commissioner Kiran Bedi from India, famed throughout the world for her police reform efforts. She presented a stirring and inspirational challenge to the police women present to improve their performance and to become effective policewomen, mothers and citizens. She emphasized the importance of a healthy body and ensuring that their hands, hearts and heads were all engaged in leading their lives and in carrying out their policing duties for the good of the people of Afghanistan. She explained that the hands were the practical part of their role, the heart was the compassion they needed for others, and the head was the intelligence, thought and ability to solve problems that police women need to be effective.

The panel presentations that followed the keynote speech were chaired by Hossai Wardak, responsible for gender programming for UNFPA in Afghanistan. The first panelist was Fazil Ahmad Manawi, a mullah and former Deputy Chief of the Supreme Court, who encouraged the police women in their work in support of their sisters. He was followed by Lieutenant Colonel Hekmatshuhi who spoke on the planning for the gender mainstreaming unit which is to be created in the Ministry of Interior in the next year. Fawzia Habib of the Ministry of Women's Affairs then spoke on the need for higher educational standards for policewomen, while Dr. Shallah Wardak Amiri, a Medica mondiale consultant discussed the importance of physical and psychological health and fitness for police women.

For the first of the afternoon sessions, Lieutenant Khadija introduced the keynote speaker Dr. Fariba Shayegan. Dr. Shayegan is the commander of the Women's Police Academy in Iran. She illustrated her presentation with slides and video footage of the rigourous physical and intellectual development female recruits undergo in the Iranian Academy. The conference participants were so impressed with the Iranian Academy program and with Dr. Sayegan's masterly presentation that she was repeatedly applauded.

The afternoon ended with discussion groups in which specific competencies necessary for being an effective police woman were discussed. The degree of participation in the discussions was very high and energetic.

There was high energy, interest and enthusiasm during this first day of the conference. Again there were many observers and interested supporters among the core audience. The most notable feature was the excitement and delight of police women coming from different Islamic societies not only discovering how much they had in common but how much of value they could learn from each other. Already participants are talking of another conference again next year.