“This year is an election year, if the government of Ghana is genuinely committed to women’s rights and gender equality, then we call on the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to facilitate the process of ensuring that the Affirmative Action bill is passed into law before the November general elections and we hope our Parliament will not disappoint the women of Ghana by passing the bill. It is time for our government, the legislature, judiciary and other key institutions to take concrete steps to accelerate gender parity in Ghana.”
These were contained in a statement issued in Accra recently by the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) as part of its activities to mark the International Women’s Day which was celebrated globally on March 8, 2016.
NETRIGHT bemoans that as a country, Ghana glorifies itself in appending signatures to international and regional instruments and frameworks and has worked to a large extent in providing some legal and policy frameworks for the promotion and protection of women’s rights at all levels.
However, it adds there are still serious gender gaps due to lack of implementation of the existing policies arising from the lack of political will, inadequate logistical and human resources to the relevant ministries, departments and agencies among several other reasons.
Consequently, it maintains, Ghanaian women continue to be marginalised and discriminated against in several spheres of social, political, and economic endeavours.
The statement noted that Women make up 52% of the total population in Ghana and play significant roles in the socio-economic development of the nation. nonetheless, the overall participation of women in the economic, social, political and public life is relatively low. Gender inequality is pervasive on all counts. This is attributable to a number of reasons which include deep seated patriarchal norms which impact on stereotypes and influence perceptions of women’s capabilities and roles.
It observed that the role of women in politics and public offices is one of the current burning governance issues because of the perceived and acknowledged potential and contribution of women to governance processes. Participating effectively and meaningfully in order to have an impact is a process of empowerment that enhances the self worth of individuals and groups.
The statement acknowledged that at the political level, there is no disputing the fact that, the number of women at the local government level is seeing a steady growth particularly in the number of contestants and actual elected women. However, at the national level, especially in the legislature, it has been little by way of significant change since 1996. “
“The lack of women’s voices in parliamentary committees where real debate on legislative issues takes place means at the end women contribute little to legislative changes he story is not different at the political party level, even though there are claims by political parties of inclusion of women’s rights and gender equality in their manifestoes as a sign of their commitment to gender equality and women’s rights issues; it is not very evident in party leadership structures and in their internal organizational operations.” it emphasised.
The statement submitted that the low representation and participation of women in Ghana’s development agenda is a barrier to Ghana’s developmental aspirations and the quest for gender equality by 2030 as implied by Ghana’s choice for this year’s International Women’s Day(IWD) theme.
To realise the inclusion of all for Ghana’s sustainable development,” we call on the government to put in interventions to address women’s lack of voice, power, and independence, which expose them to exploitation; exclusion; vulnerability and humiliation by state and non-state actors.”
The Statement added, “As we salute our gallant women and girls, we call for pragmatic interventions by the government to support women and girls to achieve their ambitions; we add our voice to the global women’s movement call for gender-balanced leadership, respect and value difference, develop more inclusive and flexible workplace cultures and root out all gender biases in all sectors.
“We further call on all Ghanaians to vote massively for all the courageous women who have braved the storms to stand for the 2016 general elections irrespective of their political parties to make this year’s IWD theme a reality.”
Source: Mohammed Suleman
