Intentional measures critical for gender equality

Sunday, March 8, was celebrated worldwide as International Women’s Day (IWD).

The day is aimed at helping nations to eliminate discrimination against women.

It also focuses on helping women to gain full and equal participation in global development.

Used globally to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, the day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

Furthermore, it is dedicated to commemorating the inspiring role of women around the world to secure women’s rights and build more equitable societies across all spheres of life, as well as shape the future.

In Ghana, the day is used to honour the successes chalked up by women whose endeavours have seen them rise to some of the highest positions in politics, education, sports, entertainment, the military, medicine, the corporate world, in our homes, among others (refer to page 32 of yesterday’s edition).

This year’s IWD coincided with the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, which aimed at promoting women’s human rights and gender equality.

The 2020 IWD was on the theme: “I am Generation Equality: Realising Women’s Rights”, and it aligned with the United Nations (UN) women’s new multi-generational campaign: “Generation Equality, Each for Equal Campaign”.

Ghana, as a country, has signed on to so many global resolutions and protocols, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the Maputo Protocol, the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability and UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security to protect women’s rights and inclusion.

However, many gender activists still believe that the government is only paying lipservice to the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law to help bring about equality, especially in decision-making positions of the country.

Women’s rights groups also believe that the bill, when passed, will be a great opportunity to address the rather sorry situation of inequality in our national leadership and beyond.

Undoubtedly, the bill, when passed into law, is expected to go a long way to ensure the achievement of gender equality in the political, social, economic and educational spheres of the country.

According to women’s rights activists, discrimination and inequality are still prominent injustices against females in our society. 

Indeed, from our perspective, women and girls continue to face significant challenges, such as sexual and gender-based violence and social and political exclusion.

The Daily Graphic shares in the concerns of women’s groups in the country, as Article 17 (1) of the 1992 Constitution provides that “all persons shall be equal before the law”, while Article 17 (2) also provides: “No person shall be discriminated against on the grounds of gender, race, colour, ethnic origin, religion, creed, social or economic status.”

We are particularly worried that although women are given equal rights under the Constitution, imbalance in education and employment for women specifically remain prevalent.

A cursory look at women’s representation in Parliament leaves much to be desired, as the statistics are nothing to write home about.

Therefore, we at the Daily Graphic think there is the need for intentional measures, such as affirmative action or quota systems, to be used to increase women’s participation in all spheres of national endeavour.