By Zahiruddin
CHITRAL: The women councilors attending the training sessions of a women-specific project of ‘building leadership and political capacity of women elected to local bodies’ expressed their satisfaction over the quality of training imparted to them to know the system and its working leading to their enlightenment in political arena in its closing ceremony.
Funded by the USAID-Small Grants and Ambassador’s Fund program, the project was implemented by Leadership for Environment and Development (LEAD-Pakistan) spanning over eight months which targeted 217 women councilors of all the three tiers of local government.
Sifat Bibi, a member of zilla council, was of the view that she came to know for the first time about her roles and responsibilities as an member of local bodies although this was her second tenure in the house and now she is able to serve the women folk with more confidence and knowledge than ever before.
She said that the women councilors were now able to know the minute details of the budget and financial rules that governed the system and the status of a women councilor as per local government Act,2013.
“The women attending the sessions have started to assert themselves in their respective councils by taking active part in the proceedings of the sessions and they other day, they for the first time staged walk out from the house to register their protest against the uneven allocation of development funds in zilla council”, she said.
Abida Sharif, Zulaikha Bibi and others also described their expressions about the project for strengthening them politically and termed it highly valuable.
Earlier, the team leader of LEAD-PAKISTAN, Azhar Qureshi briefed the participants of the ceremony about the project and said that all the 217 women councilors in the district elected to village, tehsil and zilla councils formed the target of the project out of which 151 attended its training sessions.
He said that improved performance delivery of women political leaders was one of the expected outcomes of the project which will go a long way in political as well as economic emancipation of the women in this backward and remote part of the country.
Mr. Qureshi said that for long term sustainability of the project, twenty trainees were identified and chosen as women cause champions (WCCs) and they were further trained how to carry on the undertaking of the project even after its exit and it was heartening to note that all of them were highly dedicated and inspired to the task.
