Pakistani officer wins International Female Police Peacekeeper Award

On Sunday 21 August 2011, Deputy Superintendent Shahzadi Gulfam of Pakistan received the 2011 United Nation’s award for International Female Police Peacekeeper Award.

Shehzadi (the Urdu word for princess) Gulfam may not be a princess like those in fairy tales but she has definitely become one in the police force.

Sunday was a day of joy and honour as The United Nations Police Division in the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI), Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO), and the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) International Scholarship Committee awarded the 2011 International Female Police Peacekeeper Award to Deputy Superintendent Shahzadi Gulfam.

She is currently rendering her services in the United Nations Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT) as the United Nations Police (UNPOL) Team Leader posted in the Timor-Leste National Police (PNTL) Vulnerable Persons Unit (VPU) in the capital Dili.

After finishing her studies, Officer Gulfam had joined the Punjab Police in March 1985. She has showed excellent performance in her ‘two decades long’ at both national and international level.

She was the first Pakistani female to serve in the UN Mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina in 1997.

Speaking on Gulfam, UNMIT Police Commissioner Luis Carillho said, “UNPOL Shahzadi Gulfam has shown enthusiasm, diligence and zeal in her work with the Vulnerable Persons Unit in Dili. Despite working in difficult conditions, Officer Gulfam has played an exceptional role in supporting and protecting vulnerable persons”.

Currently, Officer Gulfam is responsible for facilitating the referrals to shelter and medical assistance to victims of domestic violence, as well as for reporting on missing persons and human trafficking. Her duties include liaising with the Justice Ministry to provide legal redress to victims. She also coordinates with health institutions on the provision of psychological support to victims, according to The Tribune.

Officer Gulfam received the award at the opening ceremony of the International Association of Women Police (IAWP) annual training conference on 21 August 2011 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.

Officer Gulfam’s interst and dedication in her work earned her the award for which female police officers from 11 countries serving in seven United Nations peace missions worldwide, had been nominated for.

So, whoever said princesses were meant to stay locked up in towers and spend their lives in palaces, was wrong.

Read the complete article at The Express Tribune.