they have contributed to the design of both general and sectoral plans for the advancement of women covering a range of themes from women s health and education to the linkages between gender and the environment see box below they have also assumed the important function of coordinating programmatic interventions and facilitating decisionmaking on contentious issues such as violence against women the women national committee of yemen for example gathers over specialists from various governmental and nongovemmental organisations to provide consultation and mainstream a gender perspective in various areas of policy in addition to their role as gender focal points some arab national women s machineries have spearheaded projects to establish gender sections within various ministries