ERA organizes gender sensitization workshop

Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Feb 8: Jammu and Kashmir Economic Reconstruction Agency (ERA) today organized a workshop on “Gender Sensitization” at SKICC here with an objective to sensitize J&K ERA staff and participants about importance of gender mainstreaming in developmental projects.
Mohammad Azhar, spokesman of ERA said gender planning is key to achieving gender equality.
Azhar said the workshop was attended by more than 100 participants from various line departments like S.M.C, R&B, PHED, PDD, LAWDA and some other Govt Departments besides senior staff of J&K ERA, expert staff of J&KERA and field Staff of J&K ERA.
Chief Executive Officer, ERA Thaseen Mustafa underscored the need for gender-responsive urban planning as it would lead to gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Vinod Sharma, Director Safeguards, ERA, said that ” gender action plans nowadays are an integral part of any infrastructure development projects funded by multilateral agencies and are key to achieving women’s participation in planning process.”
Alok Mengi, Director Central, ERA, stressed upon the need to have institutional capacity to plan, manage, implement, monitor, and evaluate gender inclusiveness in infrastructure projects.
Khilesh Chaturvedi, gender specialist and one of the resource persons for the workshop made presentation on ” Understanding of Gender” in which various issues surrounding the concept of gender were highlighted like socio-cultural connotations of gender, commonly understood roles of gender in our societies, implications of changing gender roles in present times, scenario of women empowerment in India, its impact on poverty and education.
Dr. Aarti Nandi, ADB consultant in her presentation “Gender and Development in context of ADB” underscored the need for gender mainstreaming in developmental projects.
Sehar Iqbal, a development practioner, also shared her “insights and experiences” from the field with the audience.