'Specify women's role in local govt institutions'

Elected women representatives suggested specifying and expanding their role in local government institutions for their political empowerment.
Responsibilities of the women vice chairmen of upazila parishads in education, health, and women affairs or in other development projects have to be specific, they added.
The recommendations came at a workshop on Saturday on strategies to apply in local government legislation and National Women Development Policy 2011, organised by USAid-aided project “Strengthening Democratic Local Governance” (SDLG) at Brac Centre Inn in the city.
A discussion on the workshop was held yesterday attended by elected women leaders from local government institutions, says a statement of SDLG.
Elected women representatives of local government institutions should be provided with adequate training, while budgets of all local government institutions have to be made gender-sensitive, they recommended. State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Dr Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury said the recommendations would also be incorporated, after scrutiny, to the plan of action to implement Women Development Policy 2011.
USAid Director of Office of Democracy and Governance Alexious Butler, Meher Afroze Chumki, chair of the parliamentary standing committee on Ministry of Women and Children Affairs; SDLG Chief of Party Jerome Sayre; USAid Senior Democracy Adviser Dianne Cullinane; and SDLG Deputy Chief of Party Dr Zarina Rahman Khan also spoke.