BAJURA, SEPTEMBER 20

Bhuwaneswori Dhami, a female constable, works at Bajura District Police Office.

It has been two years since she gave birth to a baby girl.

She has been performing her motherly duties regularly. With the end of her 98-day parturition leave she has been discharging dual duties.

Despite the hardship, Dhami looks content. On the one hand, she works to maintain law and order, while on the other, she takes care of her daughter and nurtures her. “I am performing my official duty and also feeding and rearing my child simultaneously,” she says.

Dhami’s home is in Doti. Her husband works for the Nepali Army. “I have no choice but to take my daughter with me to my work station,” Dhami said.

Like Dhami, three other female constables, have babies.

The problem of constables Kamala Rawal, Laxmi Bista and Bhagrati Bista is not different from Dhami’s. They are working to maintain law and order and at the same time rearing their kids.

Inspector Lokendra Thagunna at Bajura DPO said female constables with babies were assigned four-hour duty a day.

“Given their problem, they have been kept at the gate in the daytime,” said Thagunna.

He added that other female constables performed eight-hour duty. The provision has enabled female officers to discharge their duty at the DPO and at the same time care for their babies.

Women Rights Forum Bajura Chairperson Rukhmani Shah said double responsibility had impacted the empowerment and development of women. Women cannot find time for study and take training for capacity building, said Shah. She stressed the need to reduce women’s household responsibilities and empower them.

A version of this article appears in e-paper on September 21, 2020, of The Himalayan Times.