PESHAWAR, Dec 15: The provincial government is considering wide-ranging reforms in policy making, institutional structures, fiscal and political processes, in addition to increasing women representation in public offices, to remove gender differences and improve women status in the province.

Official sources told Dawn that the departments concerned had jointly undertaken an extensive exercise to introduce multi-sectoral reforms to bring women in the mainstream, give them greater share in political and fiscal processes, help and encourage them to join public sector organizations by taking wide-ranging administrative and legal measures to ensure conducive working environment for them.

The reforms contained under the NWFP Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP)— forming part of the ADB-funded government’s initiative— are in a preparatory stage and would be implemented following a formal approval by the provincial cabinet, according to sources.

One of the recommendations seeking greater political participation from the women asks for incorporating provisions to ensure that a certain number of ministers and advisers be appointed from among the women legislators in the province.

In accordance with a set of official documents available with Dawn , the government has prepared three sets of options to implement reforms.  

The estimated cost to implement these sets has separately been evaluated to be Rs327 million, Rs212 million and Rs 271 million.

“It depends on the provincial cabinet that which one of the three options it selects to implement the GRAP,” maintained an official.

The GRAP would either be financed under the provincial budget or annual development programme of the province or by diverting part of the funding being provided to the provincial government under various foreign-funded development initiatives.

The political, administrative and institutional reforms, in addition to reforms in the public sector employment and policy and fiscal processes, have been proposed under the GRAP which would be complimented by extensive capacity-building interventions.

The source said the reforms aimed at improving the status of women by ensuring equitable delivery of governments’ services, effective participation of women as decision makers in the public domain and formulation of policies on the basis of gender analysis and gender desegregated data.

The role of women development department, NWFP, (presently Zakat, Ushr, social welfare and women development department) would be redefined.

The GRAP envisages incorporating appropriate amendments to the rules of business of all administrative departments so as to include gender concerns in their working, establishment of “gender analysis and research sections” comprising a gender analyst and support in all the administrative departments to establish a permanent organizational entity for gender analysis and research.

Formation of an inter-departmental entity to be titled “Gender Mainstreaming Committee (GMC)”, establishment of GMCs at the district level, strengthening and regularization of the existing women’s study centre in the University of Peshawar and making women development department, NWFP, a permanent member of the Provincial Development Working Party (PDWP) and other decision making forums also form part of the suggestions put forth under the GRAP.

The GRAP also recommends the high court to amend relevant service rules to increase the upper limit of age of entry in the provincial judicial service by minimum of two years for recruitment of women civil judges in accordance with Section 16 of Family Court (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001.

Reforms to encourage women’s participation in politics seek suitable modification in the NWFP assembly’s procedure and conduct of business rules to ensure inclusion of women in the house committees in proportion to their representation, appropriate amendments in parliamentary proceedings to ensure that all parliamentary committees shall have a minimum of 20 per cent representation of women, and initiating a comprehensive capacity building programmes to cover all women parliamentarians over a one-year period.