DERA GHAZI KHAN, Jan 19: The Dera women councillors condemned the proposal of reducing the reserved seats of women at the union council level in the forthcoming local bodies election.

Talking to reporters here on Wednesday, Mrs Saadat Nizami, information secretary of women councillors network, strongly criticized the proposed amendments to the Local Body Ordinance.

She said the numerical strength of the union council would be reduced from 21 to 13 members. Resultantly, she said the total number of councillors in the country would be decreased from 114,418 to 66,220 while the existing number of 36,132 women councillors would come down to 18,066.

She further said that reserved seats for peasant/workers would come down from 24,088 to 12,044 and general members from 48,176 to 30,110. Mrs Nizami said the present government had given 33 per cent representation to the women and reduction in their seats would hamper women's progress.

She said members of Dera Women Network - Sajida Malook, Hameeda Bano, Fehmeeda Irshad, Nigar Shehla, Malka Elizabeth, Abida Perveen, Saadat Nizami and Kundan Mai had participated in the protest rally and seminar held in Islamabad. The seminar was held under the auspices of NGO Pattan Development Organization.