PalestinianWomenin LawEnforcementBy Erica SilvermanSporting a badge, a gun, and a dark
blue hijab, officer Amal Fanouna
is one of Gaza city's nest, and
one of 400 female police officers
out of a force of 19,000 in theoccupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Now
serving as deputy to Major Anas Shalaby,
the commanding officer of the women's
force, Officer Fanouna previously worked
in a forensic lab in Gaza City before it was
destroyed by the Israeli army in 2002. She was
part of the drug trafficking unit and frequently
testified in court.A commanding figure, Major Shalaby studied
at the police academy in Libya and assumed
her current position last July at only 33 years
of age. "The training and the academic curriculum for
male and female police officers is the same, but
because we are Muslims, certain parts of the
training are separate," explained Major Shalaby,
who teaches her cadets self defense to instill
what she describes as "discipline and respect."
Recruitment of female officers remains a
problem, for like their male counterparts,
they lack the necessary training centers and
equipment. During the Intifada all five training
centers across Gaza were destroyed, ten of
thirteen police stations, various other facilities,
along with equipment and transportation
vehicles, and even the headquarters of the
Palestinian National Authority's (PNA)
Ministry of Interior.
Violence
against women in
Palestinian society
has increased during
the Intifada, and we
are trying to develop
a women's crisis
center
- Officer FanounaMore women are training to work in law
enforcement in the West Bank and Gaza.
