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The government pitches for more women in khaki to fill five per cent of police ranks by 2014

Published: 15:42 EST, 21 April 2012 | Updated: 15:42 EST, 21 April 2012

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Policing in the country needs a feminine touch.

This was the Union home ministry's message to the state governments and the central armed police forces while asking them to fill up five per cent of the ranks by 2014 with policewomen.

The reasons behind the ministry's missive were the phenomenal rise in crime against women and the lack of policewomen to tackle situations without compromising the sensitivity needed to deal with the victims.

A man's world: The BSF has only 1,446 women personnel in the two lakh-strong force

Ministry figures reveal that only three state police forces in the country - the Delhi Police, the Maharashtra Police and the Tamil Nadu Police - have at least five per cent policewomen in their ranks.

Among the paramilitary forces, only the CISF makes the cut but with a little less than the desired percentage.

There are extremely few women in top positions, while almost 80 per cent of them were either constables or head constables, the figures reveal.

Of the 86,000 women serving in state police and paramilitary forces, there are just 270 women serving in ranks of superintendent of police or above.

The neglect is apparent because as many as 68,000 policewomen were currently serving as entry-level constables.

'A conscious decision has been taken to increase the representation of women police officers into the mainstream of policing,' the ministry's annual report for 2011-12 said.

Among the paramilitary, the Border Security Force (BSF) remains the most unrepresented with just 1,446 women personnel in the 200,000-member force.

Two years ago, the BSF inducted women constables for the first time to guard the international border in Punjab.