AKIPRESS.COM - The OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe organized the first meeting of the sub-working group on mainstreaming gender into police reform under the Ministry of the Interior on September 25, the OSCE said.

The meeting took place on the premises of the Interior Ministry and gathered all members of the sub-working group, which includes both civil society organizations from the regions of Tajikistan working on gender issues and representatives from the Interior Ministry and the Committee on Women and Family Affairs.

During the meeting the OSCE reported on the work done by Gender and Anti-Trafficking Unit from January to August 2017. The statistics of the support provided by the network of Women Resource Centres under the patronage of the OSCE and the effectiveness of the referral system was analysed and shared with the participants. The representatives of the Interior Ministry and the Committee on Women and Family Affairs also presented their work. Several gender-related issues were discussed by the members of the group, who provided recommendations.

“The sub-working group meeting is a platform where the relevant civil society and government structures discuss the successes and gaps in mainstreaming gender into police reform and look for ways to fill those gaps jointly,” said Mahbuba Mamadatokhonova, National Gender Officer of the OSCE Programme Office in Dushanbe.

The next meeting of the sub-working group will take place on 15 December 2017.