Karnataka has increased reservation for women in its state police force by 5 per cent. On the day Supreme Court of India announced permanent commission for women officers in the non-combat support units of the Indian army, Karnataka state police announced 25 per cent of all recruitment in its civil and reserve police forces will be women.

This applies to employing women in constable and sub-inspector posts. The announcement was made by Governor Vajubhai Vala at the joint session of the state legislature.

Aimed at women empowerment, “my government has approved reservation for women in 25 per cent posts in the police recruitment,” said Vala during his first address to the legislature this session.

The government also announced the construction of a high-security prison at Parappana Agrahara in Bengaluru that will house terrorists and hardened criminals, as reported. The move to increase women’s representation in the police force is also intended at making it more sensitive in handling cases involving women and children.

This comes two months after the labour laws were amended by the state making way for women to be employed with adequate safety measures by factories in the night shift. Until then, women were employed in night shifts only in the IT and IT-related sectors in the state.

Bengaluru traffic police also had recently decided to ‘employ’ women cop mannequins at places frequented by women.

Fifty per cent of the second round of life-size mannequins that were inducted to be deployed at busy intersections are ‘lady cops’.

Commissioner Bhaskar Rao had said that the mannequins would be used at spots, where generally the forces deployed women homeguards, like schools, colleges, shopping malls, garment outlets, hotels and cinema halls.