By Razak Baba
Government through Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has been urged to fully implement the National Gender Policy to provide a clear framework for addressing inequalities deeply rooted in society.
‘She Leads Voices Social Movement’, a group of girls and young women championing women’s rights and empowerment wants the Ministry to prioritise the full implementation of the policy to ensure level playing field for both men and women.
In a communique issued and read by representative of Girls and Young Woman Groups, Adams Mubashara at the Annual General Meeting of the Defence for Children International Ghana (DCI-Ghana) in Kumasi, urged authorities to ensure the creation of safe spaces for girls and young woman to take up leadership positions and participate in decision making at all levels and also demanded that the Ministry takes the necessary steps to ensure the Affirmative Action Bill is passed into law.
The National Gender Policy was developed in 2015 with comprehensive insights into empowerment, rights and access to justice, leadership and accountable governance, gender roles and relations, and economic opportunities for women.
The movement was formed as part of the implementation of the “She Leads” project which is being implemented in selected districts in the Ashanti Region, to lead advocacy for girls and young women to participate in decision-making and leadership at all levels.
The five-year project is a collaboration between African Women’s Development and Communication Network, Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children International, ECPAT Netherlands and Terre Des Hommes Netherlands, with funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands.
The communique also implored Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to create a budget to support girls and young women’s inclusion in decision-making.
It called on traditional authorities, assemblies, unit committees and opinion leaders to ‘change negative gender norms, eliminate structural barriers and traditional gender and age role division to promote gender equality.
“The Electoral Commission should reduce by 40 per cent the cost of filing nomination for presidential and parliamentary elections for women to encourage more capable women to contest for leadership positions during national elections,” the communique appealed.
It urged civil society organisations to support girls’ participation in leadership and decision-making through mentorship and leadership programmes.
