Spain's Supreme Court Says 'Shorter' Woman Can Join Police

Illustration of a policewoman in Madrid, Spain (Wikimedia Commons/Diario de Madrid)

JAKARTA - Spain's Supreme Court 'condemns' a 'discriminatory' rule that bars women of short stature from joining the country's police force.

A young female police candidate has complained to Spain's top court after she was rejected from the police force in 2017 for being just 6 centimeters (2 inches) too short.

It is known that women who want to join the Police Corps must meet the minimum height requirement of 1.60 meters (5.2 feet). Men must be at least 1.65 meters (5.4 feet) tall.

The plaintiffs argued the rule was in favor of men, as only 3 percent of Spain's male population did not meet the height requirement, compared to about 25 percent of Spanish women.

In a statement on Monday, Spain's Supreme Court said that height requirements must take into account the average height for each gender.

The average height of Spanish men and women, aged between 20 and 49, was 1.74 meters and 1.63 meters, respectively.

The judge also said that the Police Corps did not justify the height requirements for candidates.

"In the police structure, there are many functions that do not require special physical conditions and let alone height," said the Supreme Court, launching Euronews July 18.

The Spanish police have now been ordered to hire a female candidate, provided she passes the exam, and pay her the same as any other woman who joined in 2017.

To note, in 1979, 42 university-educated women were the first to become Spanish police officers.

Currently, more than 9,000 women are officers, a figure that represents 14.8 percent of Spain's entire police force.