Facilitated by the Gender and Development (GAD) focal point system, the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) of the BARMM conducted a three-day Training-Workshop on Gender-Responsive Service Delivery for its key personnel on August 18-20, 2021 at the Greenleaf Hotel, General Santos City.

The activity was formally opened by Director General (DG) Esmael W. Ebrahim, who also shared significant information on the topic Gender Equity in Islam, where he expounded upon how men and women are viewed in religious context, as well as how Islam advocates for gender equity, rather than gender equality.

Resource Person Raiza A. Abas, Chief Administrative Officer from the Office of the Chief Minister, served as the key resource speaker of the training-workshop. She led discussions on her topic Basic GAD Concepts, shared insights on gender sensitive issues via audio-video presentations, and directed workshops that allowed participants to explore possible gender related issues that could be encountered when delivering services to clients.

The workshop, that included role playing among the groups of participants, aimed to enhance awareness of the selected MHSD service providers to become more gender-sensitive and take proactive actions on gender issues. It also targeted to improve the quality of services rendered by the ministry with observance of GAD perspectives.

Before the first topic, participants took a pre-test that gauged their knowledge on GAD, such as specific terms and laws. After the workshop, participants took a post-test with the same questions, of which a majority scored higher compared to the pre-test.