ISLAMABAD, June 3: The national steering committee on women has approved a work plan for the year 2002-2003 under the political participation project.

According to the plan, approved at a meeting of the committee here on Monday, training, including computer know-how, will be imparted to lead trainers from July 14.

Lead trainers in turn will train district councillors, who, in the successive phases, will assume the role of lead trainers and give training to tehsil and union councillors.

The meeting, presided over by the secretary of the ministry of women development, social welfare and special education, Parveen Qadir Agha, also discussed the curriculum prepared for the women councillors and the teaching methodology to be adopted for training the women.

The secretary said computer education would be included in the training that was aimed at introducing uniformity at all the levels as far as the capacity building was concerned.

The plan would ensure effective representation of women in the local governments, she added.

Dr Socorro Reyes, senior gender advisor for the gender equality umbrella project of the UNDP, informed the meeting that the training project was based on very informal teaching methodology that was why it was considered a nurturing and programme.

She said the curriculum had been prepared keeping in view the needs that the women had expressed themselves.

Brig (retd) Shafqat Mahmood, managing director of the project, remarked that the project was unique because of its linkage with the gender-based poverty reduction strategy.