SAARC to tackle gender inequality

The sixth South Asia regional ministerial conference, which ended in India on Saturday, identified six priority areas for the next two years to tackle gender inequality and violence against women.

The representatives of the eight South Asian Association for Regional cooperation (SAARC) countries deliberated on a range of issues related to the condition of women for three days here at the meeting hosted by India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development and Unifem, the UN fund for women.

The conference, inaugurated by President Pratibha Patil, was a follow-up to the 4th World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995.

The priority areas of work include preventing violence against women and pursuing gender sensitive laws, encouraging women’s participation and capacity building, promoting economic security, right to pass their nationality to their children and protecting human rights in conflict and disaster situations.

India’s Minister for Women and Child Development Renuka Choudhury said in her welcome address that the issue of female infanticide was a matter of emergency.

She briefed the participants on India’s gender budgeting initiative and said 53 ministries already had cells for the purpose.

Afghanistan’s minister for women development said the country had been going through a difficult phase and violence against women was a major concern, according to a Unifem South Asia statement.

The minister said the representation of women in civil service was around 22 percent and 28 percent in the national assembly.

She said her country aimed to ensure women’s representation going up to 30 percent in all government institutions by 2020.

News Post India