MoWD releases Rs 262 million for GRAP

Ministry of Women Development has released Rs 262 million, out of total allocated amount of Rs 280 million for Gender Reform Action Plan (GRAP).
Sources told Business Recorder on Friday that an amount of Rs 2.5 million has been distributed among selected districts of the four provinces. The GRAP is aimed at gender sensitisation of government departments, ministries and divisions.
Sources said that the ministry has started "Community Campaign to Prevent Violence Against Women" project with the objectives to mobilise communities with a special focus on rural women in five selected districts where MoWD's crisis centers and shelter homes are operating.
They said that the campaign would help promote awareness about women rights through media at grass roots level.
Sources said that newly elected women councillors would be involved in this campaign.
They said that first phase of the project includes workshops for police officers in the seven major cities ie Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Quetta, Mirpur (AJK) and Gilgit/Skardu.
The second phase of the project is community mobilisation with special focus on rural women in the selected five districts having crisis centers and shelter homes ie Multan, Nawabshah, Quetta, Kohat and Mirpur (AJK). The 'Community Mobilisation Plan' covers five districts of the country and community level activities will be carried out in the rural and urban areas at Union, Tehsil, and District Councils levels, they added.
Whereas, the activities involving local NGOs, CBOs, political parties, administration of crisis centers and social activists will be carried out at district and tehsil headquarters. The plan will spread over 4 months. Through awareness and advocacy, all segments of the society will be encouraged to form Women Support Groups (WSGs) at Union Council and Tehsil levels, the sources said.
These WSGs along with concerned area NGOs and CBOs will be responsible to mobilise and support women for taking active part in the project activities, they added.
Sources said that the consultant firms would submit their technical as well as financial proposals to Women Development Ministry before the beginning of the project's activities.
The project will be monitored through monthly visits to each district by an officer of the ministry to check the ongoing activities and to eliminate hurdles in achieving objectives of the project, they said.