PESHAWAR, Dec 22: The NWFP government has been asked to undertake women’s development as a separate sector in its budget and the annual development programme, in addition to introducing other fiscal reforms to focus on improving their status and narrowing the gender gap.

The reforms being prepared by the departments concerned and non-government organizations as part of the Gender Reforms Action Plan (Grap) seek major changes in the provincial budget and the development outlay to provide financial cover to the reforms to be introduced under the plan.

The three-year foreign funded project will be launched following approval by the provincial cabinet.

Sources told Dawn that fiscal reforms as part of the plan asked for incorporating the subject of women’s development as a separate sector in the provincial budget and ADP.

It has been proposed that separate demand for grant should be made for women’s development in the budget and it should be assigned an independent code for allocation of funds.

According to sources the provincial government has been asked in the Grap document of the Zakat, Ushr, social welfare and women’s development department to separately reflect schemes for women’s development undertaken under any other sector.

It has proposed that all the departments should be made to indicate their expenditure on women’s development as a proportion of their capital outlays.

The government has been advised to gather recommendations from the women’s rights groups and stakeholders for incorporating development schemes in the ADP. In this respect, the idea of holding a pre-budget seminar with the NGOs and women’s rights groups has been floated.

It has been proposed that every department should designate an employee to deal with the related issues and activities.

The establishment of an office of the National Commission on the Status of Women to prepare an accountability mechanism at the provincial level in this regard has also been proposed.

Grap, according to sources, also called for steps to increase women’s representation in public offices and ensure improved working conditions for them.

The establishment of a ‘public career development and information centre’ to facilitate women in getting jobs has been suggested.

The government has been asked to carry out “much needed” legislation and enforce a code of ethics to eliminate sexual harassment at workplace.