Government to Strive for Women’s Empowerment through the National Development Fund for Women

(20/02/2012)

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has stated that the setting up of the National Development Fund for Women was an effort to empower Thai women and enhance their potential. It is among the Government’s 16 urgent policies to be implemented in the 2012 fiscal year. Prime Minister Yingluck gave a briefing on the policy and guidelines for the operations of the fund at the Santi Maitri Building, Government House, on 18 February 2012. Attending the briefing were Cabinet members from seven relevant agencies, namely the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Public Health, the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. The participants also included senior officials from all 20 ministries, governors from 77 provinces, representatives from related organizations, and members of the media. The Prime Minister said that the Government would work with both local and national women’s organizations and provide greater opportunities for their participation in national development. She called for cooperation from various agencies to publicize the National Development Fund for Women and promote its operations for the sustainable development of women. She pointed out that although the Government was well- aware of women’s problems and attached great importance to gender equality, it was necessary to establish mechanisms and measures in order to promote the roles of women and to protect them effectively. For this reason, the Government has decided to set up the National Development Fund for Women. The fund, which is under the Prime Minister’s Office, serves as a revolving funding source for women to borrow with low interest or without interest. The money will be used to develop their occupations, generate employment and income, promote their welfare, ease their problems, and enhance the potential of women’s networks. Each province will be granted 100 million baht on average, based on its population, to set up a women’s development fund. Registration will be opened for members of the fund between February 19 and March 2, when public forums will also be held in all regions of the country to listen to the opinions of women’s networks. Prime Minister Yingluck cited Her Majesty the Queen as a model for women development. For instance, Her Majesty established the Foundation for the Promotion of Supplementary Occupations and Related Techniques, or SUPPORT, to provide Thai people, especially women, with sufficient training to enable them to turn out high-quality crafts and thus earn extra income. The setting up of the National Development Fund for Women is also meant to pay tribute to Her Majesty on the occasion of her 80th birthday anniversary in 2012.