ACHIEVEMENTS

The Gender Reform Action Plan since its inception, has come a long way towards achieving its objectives of improved representation and accountability, contributing to an enabling environment for service delivery and women empowerment. GRAPs achievements are summarized here:

• To streamline the participation of women regarding Gender perspective establishment of Gender Support Units in 35 districts of the Punjab.

• Gender Mainstreaming Committees at Provincial and District level have been notified across the province.

• In order to ensure the participation of women in the career counseling, Career Development Centers (CDCs) established under GRAP in Islamia University Bahawalpur and Baha-Ud-Din Zakriya University Multan have been absorbed by the respective universities

• Advertisements for recruitment purposes have been modified from Gender perspective and most of the advertisements contain the phrase “females are encouraged to apply”.

• 458 workshops / seminar on Gender concepts, gender mainstreaming etc have been conducted, wherein around 30,000 participants have been covered.

• Work plan has been developed and its implementation has started successfully.

• Seminar on “International Women’s Day” were arranged by the GSUs, (GRAP) in 22 districts of the Punjab i.e Lahore, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Jehlum, Bhakkar, Attock, Mandi Bhahauddin, Chakwal and D.G. Khan. Rawalpindi, Multan, Sialkot, Gujrat, T.T.Singh, Jhang, Khushab, Bahawalpur Sahiwal, Faisalabad, Hafizabad and Kasur, and Vehari

• Consultative workshops regarding Capacity Building of Union Counsels secretaries on Gender Sensitization and Mainstreaming has been done in various districts.  

• To strengthen the Government’s policy of encouraging female into public sector employment, Social welfare, WD & BM Department (GRAP) with the assistance of Asian Development Bank & Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) has launched “Punjab Female Internship Program”. The program has been completed in two phases inducting 50 fresh university graduates as interns by placing them in different Government Departments throughout the Punjab.

• GRAP took an initiative and launched the “Soft Intervention in Government Girls School”. In this task, Gender Specialists of GSUs working in 24 districts of Punjab were assigned the task for the uplift of the confidence level of girl’s students and female teachers in particular and the standard of schools in general with the help of local NGOs, philanthropists and community volunteers.