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A Tamil Nadu police advisory suggesting to keep women police officers away from security duty has triggered backlash from activists and women professionals, who condemned it as discriminatory and unconstitutional. The Tamil Nadu police have defended the move, stating that it was not meant to discriminate against women officers but to prioritise investigation in cases of crimes against women and children.
The advisory was issued by the state’s Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) S Davidson Devasirvatham, during an internal video conference on Sunday, June 30. The ADGP urged officials to avoid deploying women police officers for major security (bandobast) duties.
The move drew immediate criticism, with 43 prominent women professionals, including retired IPS officer Thilagavathi and senior advocates Sudha Ramalingam and Geeta Ramaseshan, signing a joint statement demanding a retraction. “Excluding women from positions of responsibility amounts to discrimination,” the letter stated, adding that such advice “stands against constitutional values.”
The signatories emphasised Tamil Nadu’s progressive record, highlighting that the state was the first to establish All Women Police Stations (AWPS), currently numbering 244, and had even appointed a woman, Letika Saran, as Director General of Police. “Women have proved their mettle in armed forces and law enforcement. They cannot be denied opportunities merely based on gender,” said Sudha Ramalingam.
Following the public backlash, the Tamil Nadu Police on Sunday, July 6 issued a clarification, asserting that the advisory was not meant to discriminate against women officers but to prioritise the investigation and prosecution of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act cases and crimes against women and children. “It is mandatory to file final reports in POCSO cases within 60 days. To reduce pendency, the ADGP advised against unnecessarily assigning women officers to security duty,” a statement from the DGP’s office said.
The clarification further explained that women officers play a crucial role in sensitive investigations involving women and children and are indispensable in AWPS. Diverting them to routine bandobast duties could disrupt essential work, it said. “However, women police will continue to be deployed for security arrangements wherever necessary, especially in tasks requiring their presence such as regulating women crowds at protests and VIP visits,” the note added.