Sexism exists in many forms in bureaucracy, says IPS officer
kolkata — Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Roopa D. Moudgil, who exposed special favours extended to ousted AIADMK leader V.K. Sasikala in a Bengaluru jail during her tenure as the DIG Prisons in Karnataka, has said sexual discrimination exists in different forms in the Indian bureaucracy, though it is often kept carefully under wraps.
In an interview, the current Inspector General of Police (Home Guards and Civil Defence), Bengaluru, also dwelt on the importance of prison reforms and sensitisation of the officials and talked about her fight to extricate the Indian public servants from the tentacles of VIP culture.
“Yes, sexual discrimination is present in Indian bureaucracy, though it is subtle. You can get a feel of it by looking at how many prestigious posts the men are occupying compared to their female counterparts. The gap is stark, though there is not a lot of difference in terms of potential,” said Roopa, who was in the city to attend a literary meet.
“When I joined service in 2000, the number of female IPS officers was very less. Now more women are coming into the police service. I often felt there is a sense of discrimination, especially when it comes to the place of posting for a female officer. People seem to doubt whether lady officers would be good enough to handle a sensitive or important place.”
“Also the women in police service
The immediate line of male subordinates often oppose the order given by a lady officer... They would disobey you, argue with you and even lie to you.
Roopa D. Moudgil, Inspector General of Police , Bengaluru
are hardly given prestigious posts. Maybe because the most sought-after posts, which involves a lot of power, also have a lot of vested interests involved and those in power think twice before posting a lady officer as they doubt if they would be able to get their work done through her,” Roopa said.
The officer, who recently declined to accept an award recognising her work from a Karnatakabased private foundation for the “heavy” cash reward it came with, said women officers in high ranks often have to deal with insubordination by male officers and blamed this on the common perception of women in Indian society.
“The immediate line of male subordinates often oppose the order given by a lady officer. There is a general feeling in our society that ladies, no matter how literate or experienced they are, have a lesser idea about the outside world. So there is a tendency to neglect the orders. They would disobey you, argue with you and even lie to you,” she said. —