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National Initiatives Concerning HumanResources Development of
Women PakistanSource: UNDP
UNDP Gender Programme
Background
Gender disparities in Pakistan are severe and pervasive.
Pakistan ranks 115 out of 143countries in the gender-related
development index and ranks 100 out of 102 countries onthe gender
empowerment measure. Deeply rooted cultural and institutional
constraintsprevent Pakistani women from playing an active role in
the development of their society.Women's presence in the public
sphere is restricted under the guise of cultural andreligious
values, thus, making their contribution outside the home difficult,
if not
impossible. Institutionalized violence against women in Pakistan
allows crimes of'passion' and 'honour' to go unpunished and gender
discrminatory legislation violates thehuman rights of Pakistani
women. They remain largely excluded from decison-making atnational
and provincial as well as community and household level. Pakistani
women areless educated than Pakistani men,and their access to
employment and income generativeactivities is limited. The health
standards of women are poorer in comparison to theirmale
counterparts with lower life expectancy and high maternal mortality
rates.
In order to address these inequalities, UNDP established a
Gender Programme forPakistan in 1996 as a new element in UNDPs
Country Co-operation Framework. Theaim of the Gender Programme is
to support the Government of Pakistan (GoP) to
eradicate poverty and promote equitable human development by
furthering the economic,social and political empowerment of women.
The Gender Programme supportsimplementation of the major
international commitments made by Pakistan, such as theBeijing
Platform for Action and CEDAW, both now incorporated into
Pakistan's NationalPlan of Action (NPA) for the advancement of
women. The Gender Programme workswith a range of government,
private sector and civil society partners since it isacknowledged
that the implementation of the NPA can only be achieved by
governmentaland nongovernmental partnership.
UNDP supports the coordination of work of 11 UN agencies in
Pakistan on genderequality. Coordination on and commitment to
gender issues in Pakistan is strong amongst
donor and UN agencies in Pakistan, as seen by the joint UN
Statement on Gender inPakistan.
http://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/http://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/
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Gender Programme Synopsis
The Gender Programme:
Acts as the channel for technical assistance to the Government
of Pakistan,
private sector and civil society partners to address gender
inequality and genderissues effectively. This technical assistance
takes the form of support for training,workshops, regional
experience sharing, research and publications and innovativepilot
projects;
Develops and manages Gender Programme projects in specific
sectors withvarious government ministries/departments;
Acts as a focal and coordination point for UN and donor
assistance to theGovernment of Pakistan for women's empowerment and
gender equality in orderto maximize the impact of UN/donor funded
programmes and reduce duplication;
Mainstreams gender issues throughout UNDP policies, programmes
and projectsin Pakistan to ensure that all UNDP activities address
the needs and rights of both
women and men, in line with UNDP global policies and the
National Plan ofAction.
The UNDP Gender programme expects to achieve the following
outcomes:
National capacities including the capacity of government
officials, private sectorand civil society developed to address
gender issues in the context of Pakistan.For example, an increased
number of trained media professionals, entrepreneursand community
leaders.
Government officials, politicians and community leaders
gender-sensitized toincrease efforts in incorporating women into
mainstream, high level decision
making fora. Policy makers, donors and other decision makers
made aware of the strategic
gender interventions for effective change in Pakistani society.
This includes focuson strategic needs of women such as mobility and
control over resources, as wellas focusing on men's issues.
Affirmative policy and institutional support for women to access
credit, toparticipate in mainstream politics and to be portrayed in
media positively.
Institutions such as village organizations, NGOs, women's
cooperatives, andcredit institutions strengthened to develop
partnerships with each other andincrease access to
micro-credit.
Gender Programme Projects
PAK/99/005:Gender Equality Umbrella Project (GoP partner agency
Economic
Affairs Division): Working with a range of Government Partners,
this project aims tosupport the Government of Pakistan (GoP) in its
implementation of the National Plan ofAction for the Advancement of
Women, in line with commitments made by theGovernment of Pakistan
when signing CEDAW and the Beijing Platform for Action. Itssupport
consists of policy based research, technical assistance and
training where needed
http://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/geupbreif.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/geupbreif.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/geupbreif.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/geupbreif.html
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and coordination of donor support for government initiatives on
gender. The focus is onInstitutional Mechanisms for the Advancement
of Women; Women in Power andDecision Making and Violence Against
Women.(Budget: US $ 2,736,531 - Cost-sharingby DFID US $ 952,000;
NORAD US $ 155,274; CIDA US $ 31,232
PAK/96/014: Portrayal of Women in Media (GoP partner agency
PakistanTelevision): Aims at a balanced and diverse portrayal of
women in Pakistan mediathrough including specific gender issues in
the programming of Pakistan TelevisionCorporation and mainstream
gender throughout all productions. The project establishes
amonitoring system for portrayal of women on TV; commissions TV
productions ongender issues; integrates gender in the training
curriculum and brings together mediaprofessionals trains on the
issue of gender. Under the same framework regional andinternational
film festivals are being organized.(Budget: US $ 1,839,538)
PAK/96/015: Women in Urban Credit (GoP partner agency First
Women's Bank):
Aims to increase womens access to and control over resources
through technical support
to the First Womens Bank Limited (FWBL) in establishing
mechanisms for deliveringmicro finance services to poor women. It
establishes a platform - Women in CreditInformation and Resource
Centre - for information collection and dissemination to
allstakeholders in the micro-finance sector in Pakistan to promote
good practices amongstthose working in micro credit.(Budget: US $
448, 378)
PAK/96/011: Supporting Democratic Electoral Process in Pakistan
(SDEPP) (GoP
partner agency Electoral Commission of Pakistan): Has two
components of which oneworks for womens political empowerment
through a nation wide collaboration withNGOs and Community Based
Organisations in Pakistan. This component aims toincrease womens
participation in elections and in occupying political positions
through
awareness raising and information dissemination on all levels,
building alliances amongpolitically active women and creating
facilities and structures enabling womensparticipation.(Budget: US
$ 4.7 million)
PAK/96/016: Facilitating Womens Mobility (GoP partner agency
Department of
Transport, Govt. of Punjab): Womens lack of mobility was
identified as an importantconstraint for womens access to
education, health and employment. This initiative wasstarted in
collaboration with the Punjab Transport Department and aims to
facilitatewomens mobility through research on womens mobility needs
and obstacles faced andthrough promoting a gender sensitive public
transport policy and women friendlyfacilities. Project partners
include Private Transport Companies who have taken on thetraining
modality for drivers and established two-door buses with reserved
seats forwomen.(Budget: US $ 231, 000)
http://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/portrayalwomen.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/portrayalwomen.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/womenurban.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/portrayalwomen.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/portrayalwomen.htmlhttp://www.un.org.pk/undp/gender/womenurban.html
