September 26, 2003	Friday	Rajab 28, 1424

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HARIPUR, Sept 25: Women councillors accused Nazims of discriminating against them and blamed their own family members of imposing unrealistic restrictions, saying women were being marginalized in the local government system.

This was stated by member of the Haripur tehsil council Gul Ambreen Minhas while talking to this correspondent here on Thursday.

Accusing their male colleagues of excluding them from consultations while preparing union council development budgets, she criticized her male colleagues for preferring their own schemes over proposals floated by women councillors, saying they endorsed and implemented their own schemes because councils were male dominated.

She said at tehsil and district council levels, women councillors were deprived of funds contending that they (women councillors) should focus on women-specific schemes. “Why should we confine our activities to a specific gender. After all, men are also our constituents,” she maintained.

She said that in the last fiscal year, the TMA Haripur had earmarked no funds for any of the schemes recommended by 12 women councillors the tehsil council, provoking them to refrain from taking part in voting on many issues, depriving their male colleagues of their support.