The Secretariat of State for the Socio-Economic Support of Women (SEM) plans to conduct an analysis of the annual plans for the 2017 state general budget in all ministries and secretariats of state to ensure programs benefit both genders.
Secretary of State Veneranda Lemos said the main role of SEM was to remind the ministries and individual secretariats to consider women’s issue in their annual plans.
“Before the final approval, SEM should look at all plans,” said Lemos after meeting with the Minister for the Coordination of Social Issues and Minister for Education in Vila Verde, Dili.
She said it was important that gender considerations were taken into account during the budget allocation for programs, particularly training programs, to ensure that these benefited both women and men.
She also called on the ministries and the secretariats of state to involve women in the decision-making process at the ministerial level as they had the ability to do so.
The Education Ministry considered gender issues in its 2015 annual budget plan, allocating funds for the literacy program and for the purchase of vehicles to help transport students who lived a long distance from school, Lemos said.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Antonio da Conceição said it was important for the ministry to have an annual plan that provided benefits to both genders as this would help to transform people’s mentality.
“Education is about teaching people to respect one and another and there should be equal treatment for men and women,” he said.
From education, they can bring knowledge to their own families
He said the ministry would also integrate gender issues as part of teacher training to reinforce that they must not use violence and bad language as a method for teaching students.
In regards to teachers committing violence against children in schools, he said this was a criminal matter and would be dealt with by the police.
