Gender Inequality Problem in Indonesian Police

TheIndonesia.id - Commissioner of the National Police Commission Poengky Indarti lauded National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo for promising to offer strategic positions to female police officers. This promise was made after a report found Indonesian police's gender inequality is the lowest in Southeast Asia.

"We praise and support this," Indarti noted in a written statement received by Antara on Monday, January 3, 2022.

Indarti remarked that policewomen currently constituted merely 5.8 percent of the 450 thousand police officers nationally. This figure is the smallest in Southeast Asia. "In fact, women in Indonesia constitute 50 percent of the total population," she remarked.

Indarti believes that more women should be recruited as police to serve the public. Additionally, more of these policewomen should be promoted to the post of police chief.

"We also see the necessity to promote policewomen to become inspector general," she stressed.

Indarti highlighted that currently, only three policewomen held the rank of brigadier general: the deputy regional police chief of Central Kalimantan, Brigadier General Ida Oetari; head of the national police history center Brigadier General Apriastini; and Brigadier General Juansih of the National Police Education and Training Center.

"We think, all of them deserve the rank of inspector general," she affirmed.

Indarti also expected female police officers to be given the opportunity to hold regional police and other strategic positions, as policewomen had delivered achievements that were as good as their male counterparts.

"Policewomen have delivered extraordinary achievements. They are not inferior to their male colleagues. They are even better in some aspects, for instance, related to discipline, being free from corruption, and offering better service," she pointed out.

National Police Chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo offered insights into the gender inequality issues in the National Police organization. He delivered the statement during a release at the end of 2021 at the National Police Headquarters on Friday, December 31, 2021.

Prabowo noted that gender inequality had become an issue in several parts of the world. The National Police will provide an opportunity to both men and women to have the seat of inspector general, he stated.

Prabowo also called on the National Police to adapt to create gender equality within the National Police, and to that end, vouched to improve the capabilities of the members. He is confident that female and male police officers can handle high-risk special assignments.

"Especially also some high-risk assignments, which of course, also require special readiness and abilities of our members, and we will improve this in future," he stated.

Data from the National Police's HR Division showed 24,722 policewomen in the last two years, during the 2019-2021 period. Out of the 24,722 policewomen, there were three brigadier generals, 19,830 non-commissioned officers, 3,412 first officers, and 1,477 mid-ranking officers.