PESHAWAR  -  Caretaker Chief Minister Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Justice (r) Dost Muhammad Khan presided over a meeting of the provincial cabinet on Thursday that asked the KP Commission on Status of Women to revisit the draft proposals related to women empowerment and their problems related to health and education, and redraft its recommendations in the emerging landscape of the province after merger of 7 districts of the erstwhile Fata into the province. 

The cabinet extensively debated the subject and the caretaker chief minister directed to incorporate in the draft the clauses required for real empowerment of women in the society. He suggested creating an endowment fund in order to meet out expenditures of the district committees on the status of women.

It is important to empower the women financially and economically by bringing them out of the fear to surrender their due rights in the society. There should be a complete package to be extended to the backward districts and the newly-merged districts as well. The draft proposal should include formation of the committees, their budgetary proposals and its approval, the CM directed.

The chief minister said that the caretaker set up had earlier exercised its mandate for approval of the budget for the 4 months and it has the mandate to make readjustments that should be need driven. The CM with the consent of the cabinet decided to return the draft to the commission for revisiting and making readjustments.

He directed for women empowerment in all sectors, saying that the district committees and their members should be supported by the commerce and industries committee for marketing handicraft of poor women of the backward districts, excluding the middleman role, as in such situations, the women could not get the kind of benefit and return of their handicrafts, Dost said.

The department concerned was directed that the new recommendations should be supported by cogent and convincing reasons. Professionally sound woman should be encouraged into the committees for properly safeguarding rights of their fellow women and improving the status of women in all sectors.

The caretaker cabinet also laid down a transparent criteria and procedure for depoliticising recruiting process in the boards of intermediate and secondary education in the province. The set criteria for the appointment and recruitment on all posts from top to bottom should not be compromised, the CM said.

There will be search committee to recommend qualified persons for the chairman, other office bearers and their tenure to be linked to their performance audit, especially the contribution during their stay on the key posts, the CM directed.

The cabinet after approval will send an ordinance for promulgation to the governor.

The chief minister said that the caretaker set up wanted to prepare a roadmap for the next government for quality education in the province. The politicisation and favouritism are root causes of educational decline, he said.

Dost suggested that a 3-member committee comprising educationists, bureaucrats and office bearers of the boards would be part of the tribunal for redressing complaints and would decide each case within 21 days. The tribunal will be headed by a judge to discourage union politics in all boards of the province, he said.

The cabinet also agreed to strengthen safety and security in Dar-ul-Amaan and Women Crises Centres. It formed a committee headed by secretary establishment and other members including Secretary Law, Social Welfare and Local Government. The committee would identify weaknesses in the system and firm up recommendations to have a strict, supervisory and administrative control.

He directed for well-controlled women crises centres wherein all employees including security guards would be women. The new mechanism must create a congenial environment in all shelter homes and crises centres, he said.

He directed against any exploitative attitude towards the women as such attitudes created psychological bearers for women in their normal lives. The committee would forward recommendations within 3 days. All these recommendations would be adopted in the next cabinet meeting, he said.