Senate body for promotion of female literacy on war-footings
By Asim Hussain

ISLAMABAD—Identifying low literacy and participationn rates among rural females as the greatest stumbling block in the accelerated development of the women in the country, the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Women Development called upon the government to undertake programmes for enhancing female literacy and education on war-footing.
The Sub-Committee, which met at the Parliament House today with SenatorMrs.Razina Alam Khan in the chair, directed the Ministry of Women Development to initiate programmes for promotion of female literacy in the rural areas along with their political training and awareness. Such projects, she said could be patterned on the model of adult literacy programmes.
The members of the Committee felt that such an exercise will not only enhance the level of women participation but would also promote gender mainstreaming and help overcome poverty and backwardness. They opined that the Ministry of Women Development must have a larger role and mandate to take up the issues pertinent to women in their broader perspective and entirety, instead of merely acting as a facilitator of programmes. They felt that the plight of women in the rural areas of the country, where the bulk of the population lives, is very pathetic and lot more needs to be done with regard to their economic, social and educational uplift.
Earlier, the representatives the Ministry of Women Development apprisedthe members of the Committee of the role and functions of the Ministry with regard to development of the women in the country.
The meeting was also attended by Senators Mrs. Fauzia Fakhar-uz-Zaman, Sameen Siddiqui and Ms. Sabina Rauf. Senior functionaries of the Ministry of Women Development were also present.