August 24, 2005	Wednesday	Rajab 18, 1426

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PESHAWAR, Aug 23: A UNDP-assisted project was launched here on Tuesday to build the capacity of government officials and legislators to ensure that policies in all areas of development were made in a manner beneficial to both men and women.

There is a need of gender sensitisation among government officials involved in formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of polices and projects, said Mohammad Ikram Khan, director of the Gender Mainstreaming in Planning and Development (GMPD).

A large number of officials, district coordination officers and other stakeholders attended the ceremony to be followed by a workshop on ‘gender sensitisation of senior government officers/policy makers’ at the National Institute of Public Administration.

The GMPD, a three-year project (2005-07), would be completed at a cost of Rs265 million in which the NWFP’s share would be Rs32 million.

The UNDP will be providing technical assistance while NORAD and CIDA will also be pouring funds. Officers dealing with the development sector and policies of the provincial departments, all the 24 districts and seven Federally Administered Tribal Areas will be beneficiaries of the project.

Prof Shaheen Sradar Ali, a former provincial minister, in her lecture emphasized that planning and development should benefit both men and women alike.

She said there should be a gender-responsive government, asking policymakers to go out to see the ground realities before formulating projects which could benefit both men and women.

Prof Shaheen, who serves at the University of Warwick, UK, pointed out that one example showing a lack of gender sensitivity in policymakers was establishment of girls schools in far-off areas of the NWFP. “Girls cannot go there due to security, economic and cultural reasons. The result is that these schools have remained underutilized, keeping the female literacy rate low,” she said.

Alf Ramslein, the ambassador of Norway, said the Norwegian government would contribute to bring about a positive change. He said he was aware that government officials often managed with meagre resources but there was a need to change the mindset.

Faiza Effendi, assistant resident representative, UNDP Pakistan, said that gender sensitisation of senior government officers/policymakers was part of the gender support programme of the UNDP to ensure that men and women benefited equally from development.

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