KARACHI, June 7: Sindh minister for women development, Dr Saeeda Malik has underscored the need for a comprehensive and tangible planning by civil society organizations and the government, for resolving issues and problems faced by womenfolk of the country, who constitute half of the country’s population.

She was speaking at a meeting, on Saturday, of the representatives of NGOs of the province, working for the betterment of women in Sindh,

The minister expressed concern over occupation of women compartments, in public transport, by men, subjecting working women to harassment and non-availability of washroom facilities for working women at their workplace.

Emphasizing the significance of civil society for welfare of women, she said that without active participation of CSOs, none of the set objectives could be achieved, as the government desperately required their support in that regard.

She said that impact of the projects being conceived by the Women Development department should trickle down to district level, and it was with the very purpose that the department would soon be appointing a director, under whom sub-directorates would function at Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur.

‘So far, under various training programmes launched by women development department, some 2,400 women councillors at district, Taluka and union level, were imparted training in the first and second phases, while in the last phase, 4,000 more such councillors would be equipped with similar training by August 31, 2003,” she said.

She said that women councillors would be trained in political and social affairs to undertake their responsibilities in most efficient manner.

She said that more than 60 per cent of country’s women, associated with agriculture, need advocacy to create awareness among them about their rights and health issues.

The minister agreed that serious efforts were required to modify the approach of many towards women in the society.

Those who spoke on the occasion included Women Development Secretary, Mushtaq Memon, additional secretary of the department, Tufail Ahmad Jumani, provincial coordinator and deputy director of the department Ashfaq Qadri, and Director Social Welfare, Qurban Ali Memon.

The NGOs, which included National Association of Business and Professional, APWA, AURAT Foundation, Shirkat Gah, PAVHNA were represented by Shamim Kazmi, Nargis Rahman, Jahan Ara, Dr Khawar Mahdi, Nighat Taufeeq, Mrs Misbah, Anees Haroon and Pervaiz Kamran.—PPI/APP