Suhai Aziz Talpur

Born into a lower middle class family from lower Sindh, Suhai Aziz Talpur is the first woman to join the police force at ASP rank. She was once shunned by her relatives as they cut off all ties with her only because she wanted to study and they were in favour of religious education. Only her parents thought she deserved to be educated.

When her parents decided to enrol her at school, most of her relatives started taunting her family. So much so, that her family had to leave their village and moved to a nearby town to allow Suhai to get education. Suhai started her primary education at a private school in Tando Muhammad Khan and joined Bahria Foundation for her intermediate studies.

Her educational path then led her to pursue B.Com from the Zubaida Girls College, Hyderabad. Her family wanted her to become a chartered accountant but she felt the job to be very dull as it had no social value and decided to appear for CSS and cleared it in first attempt. Her father Aziz Talpur, a political activist and writer, always desired big for his daughter and vowed to provide her daughter quality education. Now he knows his efforts were successful.

The moment she cleared her Central Superior Services (CSS) examination and was told that she would be joining the police department as an assistant superintendent of police (ASP), the same people started approaching her by claiming to be her long-lost relatives. This is the power of education and being a female, she is proud to have this power.

At the age of 25, Suhai Aziz Talpur became the first woman from lower Sindh’s Thatta, Badin, Tando Muhammad Khan, Mirpurkhas, Umerkot and Tharparkar districts to join the police. Her first choice was district management group and the police force was second. Her percentage in the examination, however, qualified her to join the police force. She knows the uniform has its own power and she is determined to try her best to use it for good.

She credited her success to hard work and her upbringing. Her parents are nationalists. As a child, they used to emphasise that I memorise Sindhi poetry. This developed her interest in literature and history, leading her to secure top marks in both the subjects in the CSS exams.

Although small in number, female officers have managed to make it to the top on their own. Earlier, only two women in Sindh cleared the CSS and were working in the police department on senior posts, ASP Irum Awan and Shehla Qureshi. Awan was the first female ASP to be posted in Ghotki, a district known for tribal clashes and dacoit culture. She worked hard to stop honour killings as she could understand the plight of the victims.

Three other female officers enjoy senior positions but they joined through the Sindh Public Service Commission (SPSC) or were political appointees. Naseem Ara Panhwar, from Mirpurkhas, serves as the SSP in the driving licence branch. She was appointed in 1995 when the Pakistan People’s Party-led government had directly recruited DSPs in the police through the SPSC. SP Traffic Jalees Fatima and Establishment ADIG Noushaba Kausar are two other female officers who have been given high ranks in the department.

We believe more, young and vibrant women should come forward because not only do they have equal potential as their male counterparts but they would also be in a better position to solve women’s issues.