Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has announced plans to narrow the gap between male and female police officers, adding that women are just as capable of excelling in all fields of the task force as their male counterparts.
Currently comprising 5,000 members, the Women’s Police Association will be the spotlight of the second Regional Women Police Conference, which will be held in the capital from November 25 to 27.
“Women and men in the police should stand hand-in-hand if not now, then they definitely will in the near future. There is no place off-limits within the force for women,” said Lieutenant Colonel Thani Butti Al Shamsi, Director of the Training Department at Abu Dhabi Police.
The conference will shed light on some major issues, including modern ways of combating electronic crimes, female police officers’ roles in forensics and the MoI’s efforts in human rights including their work with Ewa’a, the capital’s shelter for women and child victims of human trafficking.
“Our female police officers are performing their roles to the maximum of their abilities while adhering to the UAE’s cultural norms and religious values,” he added.
The Emirates Women’s Police Association is the 26th and only Arab member of the International Association of Women Police.
Speakers at the event will include the Secretary-General of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers, the United States Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues in addition to the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) president and the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.
Female staff members in the police force will be granted seven awards with the Distinguished Female Employee Disabilities Award being the first of its kind worldwide.
“The UAE is proud of its women’s roles in the development of its society. The MoI will ensure that all opportunities for enrichment and growth is provided for this valuable sector of our community as they have always been ever since the unison of this great country’s seven Emirates,” Al Shamsi concluded.
