Women CPO rank holders stage circumambulation protest at Kerala Secretariat

Thiruvananthapuram:  A dramatic protest unfolded in front of the Kerala Secretariat as women Civil Police Officers staged a Shayana Pradakshinam — a symbolic lying-down circumambulation — demanding immediate appointments from the 2022 PSC rank list before it expires on April 19, 2025.

Less than 30% of the 967 candidates on the Women CPO list have received appointment recommendations, and only 213 have actually joined duty. Aspirants protested accusing the state government of failing to honour its promise of increasing female representation in the police force.

Protesters highlighted that most of the 454 police stations in Kerala lack the minimum required number of women officers and criticised the current practice of linking women’s appointments to male recruitment cycles as discriminatory.

During Saturday’s protest, a woman collapsed due to exhaustion and had to be rushed to hospital. Several others on hunger strike have reportedly grown physically weak, but no government representative has met the protesters or offered any assurance so far.

“We never imagined that after preparing for the exam and making it to the list, we would be forced to stand here like this,” one protester said. “Many of us have left our children and infants at home. We’re here out of helplessness.”

A similar protest by male CPO aspirants last year over the same appointment issue failed to elicit any meaningful response from the authorities. The women rank holders now fear their appeal may also be ignored unless urgent intervention occurs.