A Draft Approach Paper to the 11th Plan: A Preliminary Critique from Women’s Organizations

preliminary critique of the Draft Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan released recently by the Planning Commission was submitted by the representatives of six women’s organizations on the 11th of July. They included Ms. Sudha Sundararaman - All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Ms. Manorama Bawa - All India Women’s Conference (AIWC), Ms. Jyotsna Chatterjee - Joint Women’s Programme (JWP), Ms. Bulu Sareen - FORCES, Ms. Sughra Mehdi - Muslim Women’s Forum and Ms. Sunita Das – YWCA. The critique made by the women’s organizations was received with great attention by Ms. Syeda Hamid, Member, Planning Commission Ms. Manjulika, Adviser, Department of Women and Child Development and their colleagues. While appreciating the presentation, they cautioned that changes in the policy framework would require processing at the political level. They assured the delegation that while finalising the Approach Paper, some of the important suggestions made by the delegation would definitely be included.