Punjab’s Virtual Women Police Station has been shortlisted among the top 20 digital governance projects in the world at the United Nations-backed World Summit on the Information Society Prizes 2026, a prestigious global competition that recognises technology-driven initiatives advancing sustainable development goals. Pakistan is the only country with two projects shortlisted in the e-governance category, with the Virtual Centre for Child Safety also making the global top 20 list. Both initiatives are operated by the Punjab Safe Cities Authority. The dual shortlisting places Punjab’s digital public safety infrastructure on the global stage and represents one of the most significant instances of international recognition for a Pakistani government technology initiative in recent years.
The Virtual Women Police Station was launched in 2024 under the vision of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. The platform allows women to report crimes and seek assistance from home using a helpline and a dedicated mobile application, enabling them to register complaints with full privacy and without visiting a physical police station. The design of the system directly addresses the barriers that have historically prevented many women from accessing law enforcement, including concerns about privacy, social stigma, the logistical difficulty of reaching police facilities, and the discomfort of navigating a traditionally male-dominated institutional environment. By digitising the complaint registration process and making it accessible through a phone call or a mobile application, the platform has fundamentally changed what seeking justice means in practice for women across Punjab.
In just two years since its launch, the Virtual Women Police Station has handled over 935,000 cases and registered more than 80,000 First Information Reports. The platform has made it easier and significantly safer for women to obtain justice, particularly in cases of harassment and violence. The scale of utilisation, approaching one million cases within two years, speaks to the depth of unmet demand for accessible, private, and responsive law enforcement services among women in Punjab, and demonstrates that the platform has successfully reached communities where traditional policing channels had failed to serve effectively.
The WSIS Prizes, held annually under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union in partnership with the United Nations, are among the most credible global benchmarks for evaluating the impact of information and communication technology initiatives in public service delivery. Inclusion in the top 20 in the e-governance category places the Virtual Women Police Station and the Virtual Centre for Child Safety in the company of the most impactful digital governance projects operating anywhere in the world, and positions Punjab Safe Cities Authority as a reference institution for how public safety technology can be deployed to serve vulnerable populations at scale. The recognition is expected to strengthen the case for further investment in and expansion of both platforms within Pakistan.
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