A women's rights advocate, Ms Janet Adama Mohammed, has said that efforts to prevent all forms of violence against women, end impunity for perpetrators and provide effective support and redress for victims should be incorporated in national development plans, policies, and strategies for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
She said that MDGs and human rights have common objectives-to preserve and protect human dignity. She notes that violence against women is a fundamental breach of women's human rights and impedes progress towards the achievement of the MDGs in all regions.
She said since gender equality (GE) is one critical vessel to the achievement of the MDGs, Ghana should consider a way forward in a gender-affirmative action policy and implement it.
Ms Mohammed, who is also the Programme Director of Ibis Ghana, said these in a presentation on Gender Equality and Women's Rights at a public forum by Amnesty International in Accra to mark the International Women's Day.
It was under the theme, "Beijing + 15: Time to Address the Gaps in Women's Rights." She observed that although most Ghanaian women contribute in various ways towards food security and poverty alleviation through farming and small scale enterprises, most agricultural and economic policies are not visibly inclusive of women.
She further observed that women's participation in the power structure still stands at about 8.2% in Parliament and even though there is an effort to use the quota system to create a balance in the proportion of women and men in the district assemblies, there is still a low representation of women in decision-making positions at the district, regional and national levels.
"There are still several discriminatory social practices in prevailing cultural attitudes and societal codes evoked in the name of traditions and religion, which undermine the dignity and rights of women. Examples of these include witchcraft, widowhood rites, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriages, widowhood rites, girl-child betrothals and unintended consequences of dowry etc, which do not guarantee the liberty/ freedom of women and render females second humans".
She however noted that efforts to design strategies to reduce violence against women and monitor behavioral changes have been hampered by the lack of adequate statistics. To address this she recommended that structures that address violence against women and children must be supported and strengthened; girls' access to quality education and their retention in school should be enhanced and the strengthening of institutional mechanisms like Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) to effectively provide the needed policy guidance and implementation. "Widen the space for women in governance right from the local government level to national boards. The political parties should create space for women to assume strategic leadership and bring change, there should be gender oriented economic policies, agricultural policies that respond to the needs of small- scale farmers a majority of whom are rural women". According to the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Education and Gender Equality, in most developing countries like Ghana, gender inequality is a major obstacle to meeting the MDG targets. In fact, achieving the goals will be impossible without closing the gaps between women and men in terms of capacities, access to resources, opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and conflicts.UNICEF defines gender equality as leveling the playing field for girls and boys by ensuring that all children have equal opportunity to develop talents.In an address, the Deputy Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, Hajia Hawawu Boya Gariba, noted that this year's women's day celebration which coincided with the 15th anniversary of the implementation of Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) calls for serious stock taking and that areas identified for further action should be strictly adhered to. "It has been emphasized that reproductive child health component which entails family planning, safe motherhood, adolescent health and development, reproductive tract cancers for women and men, menopause and andropause, gender-based violence, working with men as users of reproductive health services, child health programmes, education on sexuality during the life cycle and care of the aged need to be expanded".She continued that with regard to education a great deal of emphasis has been placed on achieving gender parity in primary and secondary education.
These among others, Hajia Gariba noted, when they are adhered to, will place Ghana in a better position to achieve the MDGs, particularly goal 3: promotion of gender equality. Mr.Lawrnce Amesu, Director of Amnesty International, Ghana, called on all opinion leaders and authorities to abolish all forms of traditional and cultural practices that negatively affect women."
Amnesty International will take the opportunity of the Beijing+15 review and appraisal to draw attention to the urgent need for governments to acknowledge and respond to the critical gaps in the implementation of the BDPfA, which is also crucial for ensuring meaningful progress on the MDGs.
These gaps cannot be addressed unless governments, traditional leaders and related authorities address the remaining barriers to the enjoyment of women's rights", he stated. Mr. Amesu appealed to the Ministers of Education and Women and Children's Affairs to institute investigations into alleged gender-based abuses being perpetrated against girls and women in some schools, colleges and universities and to bring the culprits to face the full rigors of the law.
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