Punjab Police launches ‘Mainstreaming of Women Police' project to strengthen role of women officers
The project kicked off with a three-day Training of Trainers (ToT) programme held at the Punjab Police Academy...
Punjab Police launches ‘Mainstreaming of Women Police’ project to strengthen role of women officers
In a landmark move, the Punjab Police has launched the ambitious “Mainstreaming of Women Police” project, aimed at assessing and enhancing the role and integration of women police officers across the state, according to an official release.
The project kicked off with a three-day Training of Trainers (ToT) programme held at the Punjab Police Academy (PPA), Phillaur, earlier this month.
According to the release, the ToT was organised by the Community Affairs Division (CAD) Wing of Punjab Police in partnership with the Hartek Foundation. The session trained around 60 master trainers, comprising four senior police officers from each district. These officers have been tasked with cascading the training within their respective districts.
The training curriculum covered key modules, including Shaping the Police Persona, Gender Sensitisation, the Role of Police in Delivering Justice to Underserved Sections, and Strategies for Mainstreaming Women Officers within the traditionally male-dominated police force. Special emphasis was placed on the responsibilities of senior officers in fostering the professional development of women in the police.
Special DGP, Community Affairs Division (CAD), Gurpreet Kaur Deo, said that under the project, an attempt is underway to conduct an evidence-based assessment of the nationwide roll-out of the Centre’s ‘women helpdesk’ initiative, under which two women officials have been posted in each of Punjab’s 384 police stations.
To ensure a scientific assessment of the training’s impact, Punjab Police has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the non-governmental organisation J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), which specialises in policy analysis through Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs).
Under the project, 288 police stations across the state will participate in a statewide training programme aimed at improving gender sensitivity within the police force. Around 100–120 master trainers—trained by the CAD Wing in collaboration with the Punjab Police Academy, Phillaur, and the Hartek Foundation—will conduct these sessions.
The training will focus on the role of women in society and the marginalisation faced by women police personnel due to gender stereotypes and a policing culture traditionally centred on hard policing areas such as law and order, crime detection, tackling gangsters, drug networks and terrorism. The initiative seeks to address the lack of emphasis on equally important areas like cybercrime, crimes against women, children and the elderly, traffic management, police behaviour, and the overall public image of the police.
Meanwhile, about 96 police stations will not receive training and will serve as control units for comparison. The 120 selected master trainers will undergo another round of advanced training in February 2026, following which they will conduct three rounds of district-level training between March and June 2026.
The Special DGP said that before the training begins, J-PAL will conduct a baseline survey in all 288 training police stations to assess police personnel’s perceptions of women in the force and their level of gender sensitivity. After the district-level trainings are completed, J-PAL will carry out an endline survey of the same respondents, as well as citizens, to evaluate changes in gender attitudes and the role of women officials in policing, she added.
A second Training of Trainers (ToT) session for master trainers from the remaining 15 districts is scheduled at PPA Phillaur from December 22 to 24, 2025. Overall, the project aims to directly train more than 2,000 police personnel, enhancing institutional capacity for a more inclusive and effective policing environment in Punjab.