Joint stand on ministry`s devolution remains elusive

ISLAMABAD, April 14: Representatives of different civil society and women rights organisations in a meeting though agreed in principle to the planned devolution of women development ministry but failed to completely reconcile their differences on the issue. The meeting was arranged by Aurat Foundation in an effort to come out with a united position on the issue of the devolution of the ministry to the provinces under the 18th Constitution Amendment after reports of division within the country`s leading women rights organisations on the issue surfaced in the media. A number of civil rights organisations at a meeting last week had issued a joint statement criticising those organisations, particularly Aurat Foundation, which were opposing the devolution of the ministry. The statement had been issued by Mehrgarh, Pattan Development Organisation, Aasha, Bedari, Women Councillors Network, Pothohar Development Organisation, Centre for Civic Education, Women Organisation for Rights and Development, Folklore Society of Pakistan, Gender Study Centre and some women rights activists and gender experts.The participants had "noted with concern" that Aurat Foundation had not only "criticised the post-18th amendment devolution programme" but also "termed the devolution of the Ministry for Women Development as anti-women and unjust." Later, a representative of Aurat Foundation said the organisation was arranging a meeting of mainstream women and human rights organisations to evolve a common position and strategy. The meeting was held on Wednesday, but instead of issuing a joint statement, the organisers came out with a "clarification", saying the consultation was actually a "brainstorming session on various issues related to the devolution" of the ministry. "Aurat Foundation would like to clarify for larger civil society interests that the consultation, it organised in Islamabad on Wednesday on the devolution of ministry of women development, was a brainstorming session on various issues related to the devolution. The consultation did not issue a joint communiqué or a press release at the end of the meeting on anyone`s behalf, therefore any particular suggestion or viewpoint presented at the meeting cannot be attributed to any single organisation or to the entire meeting," says the statement. It says, "the participating CSOs discussed and expressed a number of concerns and gave their individual viewpoint on several institutional mechanisms, but agreement and disagreement on many issues also remained." "However, the major consensus that the meeting was able to achieve was that it expressed a strong commitment to the process and principles of devolution of power to provinces under the 18th Constitutional Amendment; and that further consultation, particularly in the provinces, is required to arrive at more harmony among Civil Society Organisation (CSOs) and governments for the success of the devolution," it says. When contacted, Dr Farzana Bari of Gender Study Centre said all the organisations supported the devolution of the women development ministry and had "common concerns" over the mechanism through which the functions of the ministry were being devolved to the provinces. Replying to a question, she claimed that there had been no differences within the CSOs as all of them were now in favour of the devolution of the ministry. She said soon they would have another meeting so that they could prepare a strategy to convey their post-devolution concerns to the federal and provincial governments. Dr Bari said that most of the CSOs which had issued a joint statement last Saturday in support of the ministry`s devolution had not been invited to attend the "brainstorming session." She said the CSOs` representatives on Thursday also attended a meeting with the officials of those ministries which had already been devolved to the provinces to learn about their experiences and difficulties which they faced during the process. She said the CSOs wanted an institution at the centre where complaint could be lodged against a province for adopting anti-women policies. She said there was a need for taking steps to increase capacity-building of the provinces to handle women issues.