Financial problem ‘forces’ girl to appear in test

Sumayyah Qureshi

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, November 2

Rida (name changed) waited on the side of the ground at Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium as boys did the rounds of the ground to qualify for the job of the special police officer. She was the only girl who had turned up at the venue on the last day of the rally to appear in the qualifying test for the SPO job.

After the boys had completed their run, Rida, a resident of Srinagar, was asked to step near the starting line. She had to run the race alone. Then a police officer explained to her the rules. She nodded quietly, not uttering a word. Her eyes looking straight out on the field, her mind aimed at finishing the run on time to qualify for the job.

As she got ready to run, she was asked if she would run with the veil on as only her eyes were visible. She answered in the affirmative.

For six minutes and 15 seconds, the timing to complete a 1,000-m run to qualify for the job, all eyes were on Rida as she tried her best to push herself to go on.

Intermittently, a police officer spoke on the microphone, asking Rida to run fast. “Run, you can do it. You only have to run one last round,” the police officer said on the microphone, encouraging Rida to complete her run on time.

As she finished her run, taking a couple of seconds more than the set time, Rida dropped to the ground, coughing and breathing heavily.

“I had applied for a job at many places but couldn’t qualify. Due to financial problems, I had to apply for the job of an SPO,” said Rida, who is a BEd. “I had no other option,” she said.

A woman head constable said: “Those who have no other job option are the ones who usually come for the SPO job.”