ANNUAL REPORT 2004 3. The Commission’s Opinions on National Action Plans of the HMG i) National Action Plan on Gender Equity and Women Empowerment In case of the National Action Plan on Gender Equity and Women Empowerment forwarded by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, the Commission submitted its opinions to the ministry as per its decision dated 10 September 2003. The Action Plan contains twelve topics such as women and poverty, women education and training, women and health, women and economy, power structure and women in policy making, institutional structure of women development, women and human rights, women and communications, women and environment, and children. The Commission’s opinions included the suggestions for the programme schedule, and for designating a body for monitoring, measurement and evaluation of the programme. It also suggested that the office responsible (under the line Ministry) for implementation, should be ascertained, and so the agency for coordinating the ministries. The major suggestions of the Commission are as follows: ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ ❐ Provide loans without collateral for poor women, and introduce income generating programmes for women from former Kamaiya and Badi communities. Make arrangement for the education of disabled (differently able) girl students by providing physical and human resources. Introduce programmes to formulate laws required for controlling incidents of witchcraft and other violence. Implement programmes to address problems of women who have lost their husbands in the armed insurgency. Launch plans to amend the Muluki Ain (the National Code) and other laws for providing full-fledged rights to property. Initiate programmes to help women take up foreign jobs, and facilitate in providing collateral-free loans, language tutorials and other training programmes. Launch programmes to consult with the concerned parties for legislating the provisions to increase the women participation qualitatively and quantitatively in the internal composition of Parliament and political parties. Press the programme to ratify the voluntary clause of the Convention concerning elimination of all forms of discriminations against women. Introduce sensitisation programmes for parliamentarians to frame the laws relating to the existing discriminatory law reforms and substantial equality. Launch socialisation programmes for those women trafficked in the past. Introduce programmes of disseminating true stories of women and their rights in the mass media. Also launch programmes for rehabilitating the street children. ii) National Action Plan on Elderly Citizens The Commission expressed its opinions on the draft of the National Action Plan on Elderly Citizens received from the Ministry of Women, Children, and Social Welfare.The Commission forwarded them back to the Ministry as per its decision of 22 October 2003. The main suggestions forwarded by the Commission on the Action Plan are as follows: 17