BANGI, Sept 24 — The Gender-Responsive Budget (GRB) Manual will be put to use by two Selangor local councils to ensure gender perspectives are considered in the planning, fund distribution and consumption of public resources, said state executive councillor for women empowerment and welfare Anfaal Saari.
She added that the two authorities are the Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) and Shah Alam City Council (MBSA).
“This manual will be a guide to local councils to systematically integrate gender perspectives in the formulation and distribution of budgets.
“This approach is important to ensure public resource usage considers the needs of various community groups and becomes part of our efforts to institutionalise more inclusive governance,” she said when speaking at the Gender Outlook Forum (GOF), held by Wanita Berdaya Selangor (WBS), at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) here today.
Anfaal also said a GRB allows gender perspectives to be included in governance instead of being limited to women-specific programmes, which is a government effort to empower women and ensure more inclusive policies and development plans.
She added that discussions on gender equality also focus on Islamic family law, economic inequalities, and women’s participation in politics.
She explained that the Selangor government will pursue stronger partnerships with various parties to ensure its women empowerment agenda is more comprehensive, towards building an inclusive society.
GOF is a platform to discuss gender equality, women empowerment, and women’s developmental needs at various stages of life.
During the event, WBS signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to boost cooperation on lifelong initiatives, encompassing needs from youth education to healthy ageing and the silver economy.
