A National Gender and Social Inclusion Policy has been developed by government, Minister of Social Protection Amna Ally announced earlier this month, relating that it is to be implemented during the second quarter of this year.
Ally, while at the Regional Gender Equality Strategy and Beijing +25 Summit at the Herd-manston Lodge, noted that the government, from 2015 to now, has made several “key and progressive interventions” with the aim of strengthening the programmes and policies that support women and girls locally.
In this vein, she mentioned the development of a gender and social inclusion policy, which will aim to “mainstream gender issues into all sectors in order to eliminate all negative economic, social and cultural practices that impede equality and equity”. The minister noted that the policy will help to strengthen links between the government, non-governmental organisations and the private sector, as they work to “mainstream gender” in their respective areas, by maintaining and providing gender sensitive information and gender disaggregated data for use in planning and project implementation at all levels. Ally noted that the ministry has also developed a policy for the reintegration of teenage mothers, which includes support measures that enable teenage mothers to continue their secondary schooling.
