Let’s establish laws to protect women in fisheries sector — Director

The Upper East Regional Director of the Fisheries Commission, Sarah B.M. Bamie, has underscored the need for a comprehensive legal framework to address the unique challenges faced by rural women in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

This, she said, includes ensuring that women had equal access to resources such as land, credit and training to enable them to make meaningful contributions towards the growth of the fisheries industry.

"By establishing laws that protect women’s rights and promote gender equality, we can foster an environment where women can thrive as entrepreneurs and leaders within the fisheries value chain," she said.

Celebration

She delivered a keynote address during a policy dialogue to commemorate the International Day of Rural Women in Bolgatanga last Tuesday.

The celebration, which was jointly organised by the implementing partners of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded projects in Ghana, was on the theme: “Cultivating a brighter future: Empowering rural women through affirmative action and land rights.

Gender-responsive policies

She called for the implementation of gender-responsive policies through which the needs and perspectives of women would be integrated into all fisheries management and development programmes.

By doing so, Ms Bamie indicated that such a move would enhance women’s participation in decision-making processes, thereby ensuring that their voices and contributions were heard and valued.

Activities

The Director, Resilience and Social Inclusion, USAID-funded Market Systems and Resilience (MSR) Activity, Zinabu Abdulai, said under the MSR activity, a series of entrepreneurship initiatives have been rolled out to empower women to run their businesses effectively.

“We are assisting women to do their respective trades better by adopting best practices to produce commodities and products on a large scale to meet the growing demands of the larger market,” she said.

Writer’s email; gilbert.agbey@graphic.com.gh