GBTI has identified gender as a crosscutting theme. This requires that gender be integrated into policy planning, programming, implementation and evaluation of activities. GBTI believes that its efforts to reduce poverty cannot achieve their full potential unless the organization addresses the constraints that limit the capabilities of men and women to improve their standard of living and quality of life. Key aspects of this are:

1. Recognizing and harnessing the full potential of rural men and women
2. Increasing their productive capacity
3. Reducing barriers, which limit men’s and women’s participation in society.

GBTI is engaged in increasing women’s ‘voice’ and representation in their communities, villages and Union Councils and increasing their involvement of profitable economic activities. This is achieved through ensuring that women participate in Community Organisations, Village Organisations and Local Support Organisations and through microfinance, asset transfers in their names and the provision of vocational trainings. GBTI’s Gender and Social sector is involved in addressing these and other issues, across the spectrum of Social Mobilisation activities and in discrete projects. The basis for the work is the comprehensive Gender Mainstreaming Policy. In 2012 GBTI adopted the AASHA Code of Conduct which identifies and addresses sexual harassment in the workplace. www.aasha.org.pk

GBTI acknowledges Gender Mainstreaming a means of consciously raising the visibility and support to women’s contributions to poverty alleviation. This is different from assuming that women will benefit equally from gender- neutral development intervention. The Guiding Principles of GBTI’s Gender Policy are as follows:

Gender Integration: GBTI realizes that addressing gender inequality as a crosscutting theme requires that women’s views, perceptions, needs and aspirations shape the development agenda as much as those of men

Diversity and Intersection: Gender equality requires recognition that every policy, program and project affects women and men differently.

Partnership between men and women: Partnership between men and women is inevitable to enlarge choices. It involves working with men and women to bring about changes in attitudes, behaviour, roles and responsibilities at home, in the workplaces, communities and the society at large. Empowerment enables women and men to identify unequal power relations and unequal access to and control over resources and the implications of unequal power relations for a prosperous society. Empowerment begins with consciousness raising and leads to self-realization.

Gender Equality/Equity: an effort to promote sustainable humane development achieving gender equality does not mean that women become the same as men. Rather, it is a conscious effort to ensure that one’s rights or opportunities do not depend on being male or female. GBTI is aware that its efforts and contributions to poverty reduction must be coupled with actions to eliminate gender inequalities in order to promote sustainable humane development.

The GSSS sector of GBTI continues to establish productive partnerships with the education and health departments and other development organizations and donors. Productive partnership has been established with the National Commission for Human Development, which has picked some GBHP affected villages in Sarwala region District Attock for the provision of health and education services. Sarwala region District Attock.