Concerned over the condition of Afghan policewomen at work, Human Rights Watch (HRW) suggested Thursday that the policewomen should have access to separate living facilities at their work space, which the country's interior ministry said is being founded.
As believed by the watch, lack of such facilities can lead to misuse to these policewomen, who are currently facing misbehaviour from their colleagues while at sleep or changing.
"We have done a study looking at the situation for Afghan women police in terms of toilets and changing facilities,
and unfortunately we found is that there are almost no police facilities in Afghanistan, which have a separate safe locking toilet and a separate locking changing room for women police, and this is a very big priority for the women police officers, it's a priority because it's not safe for them to use men's toilets, there have been a lot of incidents of sexual harassment and even sexual assault to women police officers," Heather Barr, researcher at Human Rights Watch Afghanistan told TOLOnews.
Neither confirming nor rejecting what HRW has said, Afghan interior ministry stated that it is putting the highest amount of effort to provide necessary facilities to Afghan policewomen.
"We will not disregard any effort to found facilities for women police," said Sediq Sediqi, spokesman to Ministry of Interior Affairs, "Part of the facilities are being constructed."
Despite criticism against employment of women police in Afghanistan, it is said that there has been no effective programmes by the government to encourage women of the country for joining security forces.
However, a number of those women – who are being trained at professional military academies – said there are tens of women joining Afghan National Police (ANP) everyday, and that they are experiencing no issues.
"We have no problem at the police academy. There are separate bedrooms for our changing," said Mariam Kohistani, police officer.
Another woman police officer Zinat Akbari said "Women can serve at national police like men."
Based on the interior ministry's programme, the number of policewomen was to reach 5,000 by 2014, but there are currently 2,200 women serving as part of the police forces of Afghanistan.