Senate body for continuation of WPS on permanent basis
By Asghar Ali

ISLAMABAD—The Senate Standing Committee on Women Development has termed the Women’s Political School (WPS) project as a pioneering effort to develop the capacity of women councillors at districts, tehsil and union council levels and to bring them into the mainstream of national development process.
The Committee met at the Parliament House Friday with Senator Mrs. Tahira Latif in the Chair. The Committee observed that the WPS project was helpful in enhancing the participation of the women councillors and making them aware of their political rights.
It strongly recommended that the project should continue on permanent basis to cover more areas wherein women can participate more actively and effectively. The Committee also called for providing development funds to the women councillors, so that they may focus on the development of their respective areas. It was pointed out that the less-developed areas should be given priority while initiating development schemes for women. The members of the Committee opined that greater awareness and better training facilities were needed for women councilors to achieve the desired results.
Earlier, the Committee was given a detailed briefing on the Women’s Political School Project. Mrs. Rehana Hashmi, National Project Manager, WPS informed that a holistic and integrated capacity development programme for women counselors has been delivered in Phase-I, imparting training to 27,000 women councillors. It was informed that 23,000 women councillors have been so far trained under Phase-II. She said that a coordination mechanism was being developed with all the stakeholders like ADB, CIDA, CSOs, etc.
The Secretary, Ministry of Women Development also gave a detailed presentation on the progress of on-going projects, which were being implemented by the ministry, which included Gender Reform Action Plan, National Fund for Advancement of Rural Women, Family Protection and Rehabilitation Center for Women, Community Campaign to Prevent Violence against Women, etc. It was informed that all out efforts were being made to uplift the socio-economic status of the women and to make them politically awakened.
The meeting was attended by Senators Mrs. Razina Alam Khan, Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry, Bibi Yasmeen Shah, Sardar Mohammad Jamal Khan Laghari, Mrs. Fauzia Fakhar-uz-Zaman, Dr. Mrs. Kauser Firdaus, Nawab Muhammad Ayaz Jogezi and Ms. Sabina Rauf. The Secretary, Ministry of Women Development and senior officials of the ministry were also present.