The State Government, in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), is formulating a Girl Child and Women Policy for the State to address gender-based discrimination at different levels across sectors.
The main features of the policy will be addressing issues of women through a life cycle approach that is rights-based, attention to the needs of vulnerable women and orientation towards a need-based direction, emphasis on sectoral convergence and coordination.
The key feature of the women policy will be drawing inputs and recommendations through a wide range of stakeholder consultations, particularly with women from across the State to understand their needs and concerns.
Within this framework, the first State level consultation on the thematic issue ‘Women in urban slum’ was organised by the Odisha Voluntary Health Association (OVHA) on behalf of the State’s Department of Women and Child Development with support from the UNPFA on Monday.
BMC Mayor Anant Narayan Jena, UNFPA State Programme Officer Dr Deepa Prasad, Anuradha Mohanty of PECUC, Biraj Kabi Satpathy of Population Foundation of India and Ward-7 Corporator Madan Majhi participated in the discussion.
Dr Prasad mentioned that at least 42 State and district-level consultations have been planned to ensure a consultative process to draw inputs from women across the State in the policy formulation process.
More than 60 members with representatives from organisations working on urban slums, women and child issues, women SHG groups, Government representatives, thematic experts and media participated in the consultation.
The key recommendations that emerged from the consultation covered four major areas like health, water, sanitation and housing, education, safety and security, work, employment and financial inclusion.