March 18, 2006	Saturday	Safar 17, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, March 17: The women development ministry has sought reservation of 10 per cent seats for women in the Central Superior Services (CSS) and submitted a summary to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, Dawn has learnt.

The initiative is part of the national Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP) that was approved by the federal cabinet in May last year.

At present, there was no woman in grade-22 in the civil bureaucracy.

Under the GRAP, the ministry has also suggested to have atleast two women members in the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).

GRAP seeks gender equality in four key areas: political, administrative and institutional, public sector employment, and policymaking and fiscal.

It is also about mainstreaming of gender equality perspective in public policies, laws, programmes and projects by various organs and agencies of the government, ensuring that women’s interests and needs are adequately represented in public policy formulation and related programmes.

Under the current year’s Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) of the ministry an amount of Rs300 million was earmarked. This amount now stands revised to Rs160 million after post- earthquake review of the development projects of various ministries and divisions.

Due to the late clearance of the project’s PC-I by P&D Division — November 19, 2005 — and subsequent requisite formalities of release of funds like Annual Work Plan and Cash Plan, so far not a single rupee was spent on the project.

As part of GRAP, a national steering committee on gender mainstreaming had already been notified and recruitment of 28 project employees of the Project Management Office (PMO) is under process.

Moreover, hiring of building for PMO, purchase of equipment, furniture, stationery and transport are also being made by the ministry.

It is worth mentioning here that provincial governments have also approved provincial GRAPs which will be implemented through the financial assistance of federal government.

In total, GRAP will cost Rs700 million, and the money will be exclusively provided by the federal government and no foreign exchange component is involved in its implementation.

Under the plan, gender sections would be set up in key ministries; law and planning divisions, finance, establish-ment division, information and labour.

These gender sections will be staffed with gender-sensitized officials who will oversee the respective ministries’ progress related to GRAP, and will report back to the women development ministry, as the latter will be the focal point of its implementation.

Since the health and education ministries have sufficient number of women employees, they have been selected to start with the implementation.