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This article reports a study conducted in Pakistan with the assistance of the police service there on the reasons why women police officers enter this profession, given that policing in Pakistan is traditionally hostile towards women, and the tactics they employ in order to gain promotion. It outlines the difficulties in attempting to conduct research on this topic as baseline data did not exist, prior to this study, on women in the police in Pakistan. In general, the reasons given by the interviewees who took part in the study for taking up a career in the police service, were to ensure personal security and to help other women. The article discusses the problems posed for policewomen’s career progression, which includes glass walls and glass ceilings, the need for women’s policing to be segregated from that for men, the lack of experiential training and numbers. It concludes by proposing some modest steps which could be taken to improve opportunities and progression for policewomen in Pakistan.