Kerala: India's First Ever Women Police Station Celebrates Golden Jubilee
India’s first ever women’s police station has celebrated its 50th anniversary since its establishment. Five decades ago, the then Prime Minister of India inaugurated India’s first women police station in Kozhikode and welcomed the first sub-inspector of the station, M. Padminiamma, to sign the inaugural register. The police station was inaugurated on October 23, 1973, and thus paved the way for one of the most remarkable step in the pathway of identifying women power in a male-dominated world.
While Kerala Police carry immense pride in possessing the first ever women police station in Asia, there is a talk that it could be the first of its kind in the world. Bijuraj P, Kozhikode town ACP, strongly believes that it is the first women’s police station in the world, but was less known due to the lack of proper documentation. He said, “when we searched online, there were reports claiming that the first such police station was started in 1985. However, the station in Kozhikode was inaugurated in 1973. It is definitely the first”, as quoted by the Times Of India.
According to Times Of India, Padminiamma retired from her post in 1995, but she still recalls the historical moment vividly. Padminiamma, who lives with her son in Tiruvananthapuram, recalled that the idea behind the establishment of the Vanitha (women) police station was both progressive and humane.
As women have been “under privileged” to seek justice for themselves in an extremely male-dominated world, especially in places of authority, the women police station was a silver lining of hope for the distressed. Padminiamma says the main intention of women police station was to “make it easy for them to file their complaints”.
Padminiamma also recalls the first uniform in the women police station. She said it was a white saree with a blue border which was later changed to a green border. Until her retirement, khaki was not introduced as the uniform. Eventually, the uniform has changed to khaki trousers and shirts for women police officers, indicating the transformation over time.
The golden jubilee celebration of the first ever police station has started on October 16 and is likely to conclude on Friday, October 27. The celebration included donating bloods to women and children, hair to cancer patients, campaigns about the importance of eradicating drugs and the importance of educating children about social issues. The celebration also included felicitating former officers of the station.
