Bangladesh Police Expands Women-Friendly Services For Female Personnel

At a glance
- Bangladesh Police has 17,970 female personnel, making up 9.07% of its total strength.

• Daycare centres are planned in eight divisional cities, with one already being established in Uttara for children of female police personnel.
• Police plans to upgrade women, children and elderly service desks at 64 district Sadar stations with specialised training and modern equipment.
• The UNFPA-funded PrevIL project has established women and child help desks at 92 police stations in 10 districts, with expansion proposed for 54 more district Sadar stations.
• BPWN’s 2024 to 2027 plan seeks more women in leadership and decision making, stronger investigative skills, safer workplaces and more gender responsive policing.

Context

Female personnel were first recruited into the Bangladesh Police in 1974, when their roles were largely limited to administrative work. Since then, women have moved into different ranks and specialised units, including district and metropolitan police, CID, PBI, Police Headquarters and UN peacekeeping missions. They now serve up to positions equivalent to Additional Inspector General. The latest measures build on efforts to expand female representation in the police workforce by introducing daycare centres and service desks to improve workplace support.

Why It Matters

Women make up 9.07% of the police force despite having served in the Bangladesh Police for more than five decades. These new measures could do what recruitment alone cannot do. Improving workplace support for female police officers would allow more women to access competitive roles such as Additional Inspector General. As one female sub-inspector told BSS, women officers can lead major assignments but need greater opportunities in detective work, crime investigation and operational leadership.

What We Think

The next stage for women in the Bangladesh Police is expanding their access to the full range of police work. Recruitment has already brought women into different ranks and units, but opportunities in investigation, operations, and leadership remain areas for further expansion.

That is where BPWN’s 2024 to 2027 plan is important. By linking representation with investigative skills, leadership, and decision-making, it sets a direction beyond simply increasing headcount. The current measures, therefore, provide the police with a framework for expanding women’s growing presence into a broader role across the institution.