Akole Taluka (Ahmednagar District), MAHARASHTRA :

She has broken the stereotypes and her success has been an inspiration to women across the board. Shabana Shaikh is now the in-charge officer at Dongri Police Station. The 1992 Maharashtra police joinee is the first woman in-charge officer in the history of the station she had joined as a senior police inspector. She was also the first Muslim woman to become a police officer from her district, Ahmednagar. Two of her sisters have followed in her footsteps to join the police force in 1995.

She has served in the SB-I i.e. the special branch of the Mumbai Police as an inspector until now. This mother of two wants her daughters to join the IPS. She recalls that, though her father wasn’t highly educated, he ensured that Shaikh and her siblings went to school.

“I was born into a large joint family in Akole Taluka of Ahmednagar district,” Shaikh said in an interview with national daily, “We were seven sisters and two brothers. Educating girls was almost a taboo in my village.” Her eldest sister joined a college to pursue her graduation, becoming the first girl from the village to enrol into college, despite the family facing much condemnation and resistance. Shaikh herself went to college in Sangamner.

She then went to Pune to do her Masters. That was when she decided to join the police force. While she did not qualify for the direct MPSC examination for the post of Deputy Superintendent of Police, she went on to crack the sub-inspector exam. That too, in her first attempt! And she did not let her higher education take a backseat during the preparations for the exams and during training; she finished her MA during her training for the sub-inspector post and pursued and achieved an LLB after that.

While her father had been hesitant about sending her far away to Pune for further studies, he had helped her on seeing her determination. And she did him proud with her achievements. She recalls, “My father was the proudest man when he saw my photographs in newspapers as the first (Muslim) woman police officer from the district and the many felicitations that followed.” Her and her sisters’ success in becoming a part of the police force helped dispel any idea in their village and district that Muslim girls couldn’t crack government jobs. It also helped change the wrong notions the society in their district held about girls’ education.

Last year, she was felicitated by Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh for investigation and conviction in a case of Nagpada PI WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? where she was previously posted. She was honoured with a Best Officer certificate for the same. At the time she was attached to the M.R.A. Marg Police Station. Her exemplary conduct, performance and outstanding achievements were recognised on the occasion. She has had a significant impact within her area of responsibility on mandated policing tasks.

source: http://www.femina.in / Femina / Home> Trending> Achievers / by Radhika Sathe Patwardhan / January 16th, 2021