“Your work style shows you what kind of work you can do,” says IPS officer Shalini, who was recently appointed as superintendent of police in Banda district.

It is a big deal thing for a woman to get such a big post in Bundelkhand, and Shalini is familiar with this. She agrees that a police officer’s work is considered to be a “male profession”. But she also believes that it depends on the “mentality of the people”.

Second woman SP of district

Born in November 30, 1984, Shalini is the second woman SP of Banda. A 2011 batch IPS officer, Shalini has done her B.Ed, MA and MPhil in political science.

Originally Delhi-based, Shalini took charge of Banda district on July 6, 2017. Working on growing violence against women in UP is one of her goals.

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“Crime against women is a challenge for us today,” says Shalini. She says it is a “priority” for her. “Surely being a woman, we can understand their point of view.”

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Shalini includes violence against women on Facebook and social media – threatening and stalking – as serious a matter as any other form of violence. “It’s why IPC 354D has been added,” she says

She believes that not only as a woman police officer, everyone should cooperate in taking a stand in crimes committed against women.

“It is the duty of every person in the society to work for the benefit of women, in view of the rapid increase in crimes against women,” she says.

Explaining her experiences so far, Shalini says, “I have received support and encouragement from everybody. However, it is not a small matter that a woman should try to make a separate place for herself among all men.”

Shalini believes that women need to work twice as hard as men to be taken seriously.

“Being a woman, we should work more carefully and effortlessly. Only then does the message go into the society that you can be a qualified, successful, officer,” she says.

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Picture credit: Khabar Lahariya