30 women honoured for contributions to national dev
Civil society organisations and the general public have been urged to join the effort to give meaning to the Beijing Platform for Action to help unlock women’s potential for socio-economic development.
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The Deputy Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Della Sowah, who made the call, said helping women to develop their potential, as well as supporting them to develop economically would promote development and lead to poverty alleviation.
Mrs Sowah was speaking at the Third Ghana Women of Excellence Awards ceremony held at the Coconut Grove Regency Hotel in Accra.
The event was organised on the theme: ‘Empowering the Ghanaian woman for national development,’ and formed part of activities marking the celebration of International Women’s Day in Ghana
Political participation
Mrs Sowah also stressed the need for women’s participation in politics to be enhanced, stressing that economic and political empowerment go hand in hand.
“If women are to engage productively in the economy, then they must also be enabled to participate equally and fully in politics,” she said.
She also said the ministry was implementing a number of programmes and policies to empower women and girls.
She added that with the support of the UNFPA, the ministry had facilitated the adoption of the Affirmative Action Policy, which seeks to ensure that women are duly represented in the public decision-making process.
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The ministry also supported the implementation and enforcement of the Domestic Violence Act to address gender-based violence.
The Zimbabwean High Commissioner to Ghana, Mrs Pavelyn Tendai Musaka, who chaired the event, expressed admiration for the award winners and said collectively, their contribution was a reflection of how far Ghanaian women had advanced.
She applauded the Ghana Women of Excellence Awards Scheme and was hopeful that it would receive the necessary support to continue to promote women’s empowerment.
Beijing Platform for Action
The Beijing Platform for Action is an agenda for women's empowerment. It was adopted in 1995. Among others, it aims at removing all the obstacles to women's active participation in all spheres of public and private life through a full and equal share in economic, social, cultural and political decision-making.
The Platform for Action requires immediate and concerted action by all to create a peaceful, just and humane world based on human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the principle of equality for all people of all ages and from all walks of life.
Awards
In all, 30 women were honoured for their exemplary performance in sectors such as education, health, aviation, business, the media, sports, culture and tourism.
In attendance was the La Mantse, Nii Tettey Tsuru.