This paper aims to explore the gendered foundations of police work in India, contributing to discussions on gender, labor, and policing. It focuses specifically on the different types of work that women in policing engage in, highlighting a key aspect of gender and policing in India.
The paper draws on data from an ethnographic study conducted at two police stations in India, combining this with feminist literature on women’s labor. These two stations were located in Delhi and Kerala, with the ethnographic research spanning 11 months (February to July 2019 in Kerala and July 2019 to January 2020 in Delhi).
The findings show that women’s roles within the police stations are shaped by gendered norms and social relations, which also play a significant role in the unpaid work they undertake. These various forms of work are interdependent and reinforce each other. Consequently, increasing the representation of women in the police force must go hand-in-hand with reimagining the police as a gender-neutral civic service (while remaining sensitive to gender differences) and acknowledging women’s unpaid labor.
This paper offers a unique perspective on understanding the daily activities of policing. By highlighting the intersection of gender and work relations, it uncovers aspects of policing that have largely been overlooked in the literature on policing and gender, particularly in the context of India.
