WEST BANK: Ramallah's finest

Along with throngs of pre-holiday shoppers in downtown Ramallah is a new sight: the first female police officers in the West Bank.

The freshly minted cops, wearing navy pants, light blue shirts, and, in some case, Muslim headscarves under their police caps, are directing traffic in Ramallah’s central shopping district after completing their academy training.

On a recent day, about 10 of the rookie officers were trying to untangle the knot of cars and pedestrians around Manara Square, a rotary that is especially clogged with shoppers ahead of the Muslim Eid al-Adha holiday, starting Wednesday, and Christmas. Alongside male counterparts, the female officers sought to keep cars moving and to persuade pedestrians to use the official crosswalks.

Policing is a new role for Palestinian women, who tend to enjoy more rights in the workplace and public life than those in many Arab societies. Palestinian women hold public office and run businesses though the overall society remains traditional in many respects.

One of the new officers said she enjoys the work, even though “people do not seem to listen to orders from the women in blue.” In fact, at Manara Square, it often seemed as if the women would not have been heeded if not for the accompanying male officers. The women are starting with traffic duty, but plans also call for them to help during arrest raids in cases where women are inside the homes in question.

The female officer, who didn’t want to give her name, said people will get used to taking orders from women cops. Some pedestrians seemed to like the idea of female cops. Hasan Abdul Salam, 38, an employee at the social-affairs ministry, said he was on board. “I think it is a healthy and civilized sign to see women doing police work as well,” he said. “Besides, the women may be nicer than the men in dealing with people.”

— Maher Abukhater in Ramallah