Women Empowerment

Women empowerment

The 2nd SARPCCO Regional Training Conference was hosted by Tanzania Police Force and officially opened by the Vice President Madam Hassan. It took place from 17 – 19 May and six countries were in attendance namely Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe and RB Harare with 800 police women. The theme of the conference was ‘Women Police for effective policing’. The regional conference was an opportunity to expose women in various training interventions and skills in relation to policing and leadership in order to contribute meaningfully in the fight against crime. There were 26 presenters ranging from Academicians, High Court Judges, Senior Police Officers. Amongst other topics presented were Women and Equality, Effective Leadership Implications and Considerations for Professional Police, Impact of Significant Increase of Women Participation in Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping. The Regional Bureau Women Network Coordinator Professor NDOVE gave some remarks during the official opening and two presentations on Women and Equity and Impact of Significant Increase of Women Participation in Conflict Resolution and Peacekeeping Mission.

women network

The meeting of the SARPCCO Women Network which took place on 14 September 2016 in Arusha, Tanzania, agreed to conduct a two day benchmarking workshop for senior police officers of ranks equivalent to Assistant Commissioners, Senior Assistant Commissioners/Deputy Commissioners, Major Generals, Commissioners, Deputy Inspector Generals/Deputy Commissioner Generals to share best practices and experiences in their respective fields in 2017 having noticed that in most meetings only junior officers were attending and there had never been a forum for the Executive Women.

This suggestion was shared with the Police Chiefs of the region who welcomed the idea and came up with this decision.

women in peace-keeping missions

In conformity with Decision 11 of SARPCCO Extra Ordinary Meeting from 14 -16 September 2016, held in Arusha, Tanzania, which mandated member countries to host National Training Conferences, the Royal Eswatini Police Service held its National Training Conference from 25 to 27 July 2018 at Matsapha Police Academy. It was officially opened by the National Commissioner of the Royal Eswatini Police Mr. Isaac Magagugula. The theme of the Conference was ‘MAXIMIZING WOMEN POLICE POTENTIAL IN REALIZING OPTIMUM EFFICACY IN POLICING’. A total of 500 police women and men attended with 70% being women whilst 30% were men.

The theme of the conference allowed in-depth and diverse debate on roles women play in combating crime and the evolution of the role of female police officers. There were discussions pertaining to the successes achieved and ground breaking roles that women play in the field of law enforcement. Inspirational stories of bravery and professional milestones realised were chronicled and strongly motivated those in attendance. The three day training conference focused on four critical areas which are, Sharpening investigation skills of members, Prevention of Gender based Violence, Importance of Leadership and Self-mastery.

Professor Ndove from INTERPOL RB Harare delivered two presentations on the Role of Women in Global Peacekeeping Missions and Women Empowerment. Major General Khosi Senthumule from South Africa presented on Gender Equity, Networking and Overcoming Gender Prejudices in the Workplace. The rest of the facilitators were drawn from the Royal Eswatini Police.

This conference was indeed an important step towards capacitating women towards self-conscientiousness and confident building among women. It is strongly hoped that so many women would benefit once the information shared is further cascaded to their peers back in their provinces and stations. The SARPCCO Women’s Network is the voice for those women. The conference proved to be a crucial platform as it availed opportunities for effective articulation of transformation, development and empowerment of women police officers. The conference also allowed smooth exchange of ideas on how to main stream issues of women empowerment as well as enhancing quality service delivery in the prevention and fight against cross border crime.