Enforcing Rights and Correcting Wrongs - Asia-Pacific Regional ...

Main Functions
Countries* National Plans Objectives National Machinery
for Implementation
of Women’s Policies
HDI
Rank
Its main functions are to: formulate public
policies to meet specific needs of women;
ensure women’s interests and needs are
adequately safeguarded and met by various
organsof the government; ensure equality of
opportunity in education and employment
and fuller participation of women in all
spheres of national life; Matters relating to
equality of opportunity in education and
employment and fuller participation of
women in all spheres of national life
Ministry of Women
Development, Social
Welfare and Special
Education 1979
(UNESCAP n.d.).
It states that equality between
women and men is a matter of
human rights and a condition for
social justice. It is also a necessary
and fundamental pre- requisite for
equality, development and peace for
the promotion of people centered
sustainable development.
145 Pakistan National Plan of Action
for the Advancement
of Women 2002
(CEDAW 2005c).
The Ministry aims to: implement policies and
programs; focal point for actions on issues
of women’s equality; develop and promote
comprehensive and consistent responses to
the needs and priorities of women in activities
of all Government agencies.
Ministry of Women
and Children Affairs
CEDAW 2010b).
The policy goal is to eliminate all
forms of discrimination against
women and empower them with
abilities to be equal partners of men
in the development process.
146 Bangladesh National Policy
for Advancement
of Women 1997
(CEDAW 2010b).
Thefunctionsinclude:mainstreamingwomen
in national development; empowerment of
women; gender sensitization.
Ministry of Women
and Social Welfare
1995 (UNESCAP.
n.d.).
The Plan includes strategies to
increase the number of women in
the constitutional bodies, judicial
service, public enterprises, and the
civil service; suggest various legal and
capacity-enhancement measures for
implementation.
157 Nepal National Plan of Action
on gender equality and
women empowerment
2003 (CEDAW
2003b).
The Ministry works within the government
and with international and NGO partners
to ensure that government policies, budgets
and services consider their impacts on both
Afghan women and men.
Ministry of
Women’s Affairs
2001 (UNIFEM
Afghanistan 2007).
The vision of the Plan is to build a
peaceful and progressive Afghanistan
where women and men both
enjoy security, equal rights and
opportunities in all aspects of life.
172 Afghanistan National Action Plan
for the Women of
Afghanistan (UNIFEM
Afghanistan 2007).
48 Enforcing Rights and Correcting Wrongs