𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗶𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝗣 𝗔𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮 𝗕𝘂𝘁𝘁 𝗣𝗦𝗣


S͟P͟ A͟i͟s͟h͟a͟'s͟ S͟u͟c͟c͟e͟s͟s͟ S͟t͟o͟r͟y͟ i͟n͟ h͟e͟r͟ o͟w͟n͟ w͟o͟r͟d͟s͟:


“I belong to a middle-class family of Gujranwala. I’m from a very humble background. The youngest of five siblings, my school, college and post-graduation in English were done in Gujranwala. I studied in a government school that had no fee. My wish was to do post-graduation in social work or do LLB, but my family was very conservative. Girls were not allowed to go out of the house, or live in a hostel, or study in Lahore. There weren’t any institutions in Gujranwala where I could do LLB or get a degree in social work.


After my post-graduation. I was clueless: what should I do next. I had no interest in becoming a lecturer. I didn’t want to sit at home like the other females of my family. Complete your education, get married, be dependent on others: I had never thought of that life. I told my family I was going to prepare for CSS. It was the only option my parents would allow me to pursue. We often talked about why they didn’t trust me. The answer was always that they trusted their daughter, but not the outside world.


“Our home environment was such that our neighbours didn’t know how many daughters my father had. We didn’t even meet our relatives; our cousins were not allowed to visit. We had no outings. I don’t remember ever even going to a park with my parents. They were very strict.

“When I talked about preparing for CSS, the reaction was if you can do it, do it. They were certain I wouldn’t pass. They thought those who passed the CSS and got good jobs had strong financial backgrounds and went to excellent schools. My family thought I was just wasting time.


“I started my preparation. Every day, I’d go to a library close to my father’s office. We’d go on his motorbike in the morning and he’d pick me up on his way home. I qualified the written exam in 2011 but I wasn’t allocated a job. I didn’t give up. I couldn’t see anything beyond that, it was my sole option; I believed Allah had something great in store for me. There was no way I was going to lose hope.


“In 2013, I took the CSS exam again. I had forty-fifth position. My job allocation was in police. In that year, I was the only female in PSP.


“For me, it was all a dream. As if in one day a person gets everything they ever wished for. Such things happen only in movies and TV serials. I couldn’t believe it. Overnight, things changed. Everything changed. People changed. The most pleasant and positive change was my father’s realisation that if he had understood or supported me the way he supported me for CSS, I’d have reached here sooner.


“Another thing my father promised me: in the next generation there’d be no discrimination between a son and a daughter. My parents’ mind-set changed, that was another reward.

After I joined the service my father was elated. He used to say that if he had invested in his daughter the way he had in his sons, perhaps his daughter wouldn’t have had to work that hard. That the things one wished to have one’s son do–be a source of honour for the family, and his name becomes family’s recognition– his daughter had done all that.


“In 2016, I completed my training. In a group of 29 I was the only female. My first posting was as ASP Garden Town, Lahore. Then I went into the Frontier Constabulary; I was posted in Peshawar for three months. From there to Islamabad where I served as PSO to the then interior minister. Back to Lahore, I was ASP Civil Lines, ASP Gulshan Ravi, ASP Ferozewala, Sheikhupura. In Ferozewala’s civil service history I was the first female officer.


“After promotion I was posted in Lahore. Currently, I am SP Anti-Riot Force. I’ve the additional charge of the Dolphin Force. This is the first time since the inception of these two forces that a female is heading them. Dolphin is a 3,000-strong force, and the number of females is ten. It’s a huge honour for me that I’m heading two police organisations that have never had a female commander.