The number of women joining the police force in the Valley is only going up by each passing day. What started as a trickle is turning into a torrent, with many taking a police job as a full-fledged career option. On July 20, when the Jammu and Kashmir police conducted physical endurance and physical standard tests for recruitment of sub-inspectors in Leh and Kargil districts, it came as no surprise that 299 of the 1,409 candidates who qualified were women.

   The trend is picking up elsewhere too. In recruitment drives earlier this year in south Kashmir, over 20,000 women applied for the 5,300 constable posts, police figures show. “Many women are coming forward for police jobs.

  Many aspirants believe that a job in the police gives a “sense of prestige and security”.