PESHAWAR, May 18: Speakers at a workshop on Wednesday called for active participation of women in the upcoming local government elections and urged the government to delegate financial powers to councillors to enable them to carry out development schemes in their constituencies. The day-long workshop entitled ‘Women participation in the local governance: prospects and challenges’ was organized by the Legislative Watch Programme of the Aurat Foundation here.

Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam’s information secretary Abdul Jalil Jan in his speech said that a system should be put in place to ensure that next elections were held in a transparent manner keeping in view the ‘massive rigging’ witnessed during the last polls.

A Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal MPA, Naeema Kishwar, said that maximum participation of women in the elections would be a sign of gender equality and added that the government should implement the Local Government Ordinance 2001 in letter and in spirit.

“The government should pay honorarium to women councillors also and give them a say in the decision making process,” she emphasized.

Ms Kishwar suggested that the issue of women councillors should be discussed in the provincial assembly and a law should be made to enable them to use funds and take part in policy matters.

A Pakistan Muslim League MPA, Dr Semeen Mahmood Jan, appreciated President Pervez Musharraf for introducing the local government system in the country and said it was a silent revolution due to which many of the people’s problems were being resolved at the local level.

“About 40,000 women councillors were elected in the last election which is a record given the representation of women in the exercise,” she said, adding that the government had organized many training programmes and workshops to educate women on the new system.

ANP’s Mohammad Adeel, Dr Mohammad Saleem Khan, an MPA, Aurat Foundation’s resident director Rakhshanda Naz and others also spoke on the occasion.