Lalitpur, August 31:

Speakers of a training programme organised here today said discriminatory laws should be abolished to attain gender equality and halve poverty as envisaged by the Millennium Development Goals.

The training was organised for women appearing in examinations being held by the Public Service Commission (PSC). Calling for the abolition of discriminatory laws, professor Dr Bijaya Shrestha, a member of the National Planning Commission, pointed that only 8.55 per cent of women were in the public service though they comprised 50.04 per cent of the population of Nepal.

“Rather than the welfare approach, the government should address the women’s issues through the right-based approach.” “Cooperation of men is crucial to achieve gender equality,” Dr Shrestha said, adding: “Women passing the PSC examination for gazetted officers should not be disqualified during interviews.”

Stating the PSC was working to come up with structured directives for interviews, Niranjan Prasad Upadhaya, acting secretary, PSC, said the directives are designed to select right persons.