Islamabad 10 Sep, 09: Deputy Chairman ERRA Lt Gen Sajjad Akram chaired ERRA’s 5th Gender Core Group meeting held at ERRA Headquarters. The meeting was attended by representatives from SERRA, PERRA, Ministry of Women Development (MoWD), UNIFEM, CIDA and other high ranking officials.

Representatives of SERRA and PERRA, in their separate presentations, briefed about the pace of infrastructural development of Women Development Centers in AJ&K and NWFP respectively. One Women Development Centre is working successfully in Muzaffarabad whereas more centers are being built in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Bagh, Battagram, Rawalakot, Neelum, Kohistan and Shangla. Other than this, Deputy Chairman ERRA was also briefed on the workshops and seminars that have been arranged so far for sensitizing the population on gender equality and related themes and the resultant positive impact that has been accomplished.

Deputy Chairman Lt Gen Sajjad Akram while acknowledging the efforts of SERRA and PERRA said that ERRA adopted Gender as a cross cutting theme in every sector so that both genders could have equal opportunities of life in the affected areas. He said that the interventions in this regard have positively impacted the lives of the people especially women. Lt Gen Sajjad Akram also emphasized on the need to emulate the example of ERRA Gender Mainstreaming in the rest of the country.