9 April 2005	Saturday	29 Safar 1426

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ISLAMABAD, April 8: National Assembly Standing Committee on Women Development has asked the government to amend the Political Parties Act, making it obligatory for the parties to give due representation to their women members in party affairs and announce a quota for them to contest elections on general seats.

The suggestion came up in a meeting of the committee presided over by MNA Mehnaz Rafi at the Parliament House on Friday.

Discussing progress on the programme for empowerment of rural women, the committee members were of the unanimous view that most of the rural women had no access to financial institutions extending micro credit since their offices were situated in urban areas. Moreover, procedures for getting loans needed to be more simplified so that rural women could benefit the most, they added.

The women development secretary assured the committee that the ministry was in contact with those institutions and the issues would be addressed shortly.

The committee decided to forward its recommendations to the finance ministry to allocate at least five per cent of the national budget for women development.

MNA Mehnaz Rafi was of the view that ministries should engender the future planning process and gender impact assessment should be carried out before initiation of all the development schemes so that the down trodden rural women folk got maximum advantage.

She also asked the women development ministry to explore the prospects of marketing handicrafts of rural female artisans in foreign markets so that they could fetch maximum rate for their products.

The committee members said women parliamentarians be authorized to spend the money allocated for uplift schemes in their respective constituencies on women development projects.

Ms Rafi assured the members that the issue would be discussed with the quarters concerned. She directed the ministry to initiate development projects in rural areas since majority of women were inhabited in those areas.

The secretary assured the committee that their suggestions would be incorporated in the next Public Sector Development Plan.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Khalid Iqbal Memon, Rahila Yayha, Shabina Talat, Dr Farida Ahmad, Jamila Ahmad, Khalida Mohsin Qureshi, Shamshad Sattar Bachani, Begum Rehana Aleem Mashadi, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, and officials of the women development ministry.