HeForShe campaign launched in Accra to promote women’s rise

A solidarity campaign, HeForShe, initiated by UN Women for the Advancement of Women, has been launched in Accra.

Its goal is to achieve equality by encouraging men and boys to be agents of change and take action against inequalities faced by women and girls.

Speaking at the launch of the HeForShe platform at the Independence Square in Accra last Tuesday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo cautioned that the country would be doing a great disservice to itself and future generations if women were left out of the national development agenda.

He, accordingly, urged decision makers in all sectors of national life to support policies which empowered women and girls.

He also urged men and boys in all communities to become agents of change and join the HeForShe platform.

President Akufo-Addo is the co-Chair of the Eminent Group of Advocates on the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and African Union (AU) Gender Champion for 2017.

Legislation

The President pledged that the Affirmative Action Bill currently before Parliament would be passed next year.

He said the empowerment of women constituted a fundamental challenge for development and that empowering them was the surest way of reducing poverty and guaranteeing the progress and prosperity of Ghana.

“I invite lawmakers to continue their work in advancing progress for women and girls’ rights across the nation. I invite traditional leaders, as gatekeepers of our moral and cultural values, to work in helping to tear down the cultural barriers which prevent our women and girls from being equal citizens.

“I invite you all to become champions of women’s rights and agents of change, in and out of our borders.

“I must, perforce, single out, for special mention and attention during my stay in office, SDG Five, which defines the goal of gender equality and full female empowerment. In my estimation, it is at the heart of the structure of the SDGs,” he said.

The President said he was proud that Ghana had joined other countries that had launched the HeForShe platform in support of creating a better world “where we extend a blanket of protection to all women and ensure that their rights become the bedrock for equality and social justice”.

As AU Gender Champion and Co-Chair of the UN SDGs Advocates, he pledged to work with all actors to ensure that gender equality became a reality in Ghana and across the continent.

Commitment

“Today, I commit to giving full support to the three focus areas under the HeForShe platform for action in Ghana: end child marriage and negative cultural and traditional practices; increase women’s participation and representation in political/decision-making spheres by passing the Affirmative Action Bill in 2018 and increase women’s economic empowerment through capacity building and a healthy business environment,” the President said.

He urged Ghanaians to remind themselves that “inequality has an unbearable burden and cost on our economy, society and the development of our nation. Today, I join millions of people around the world who stand together to create a bold, visible force for gender equality and say I am a HeForShe”.

The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Ms Otiko Afisa Djaba, said the HeForShe platform was an invitation to people everywhere to come together as equal partners to craft a shared vision of a gender-equal world and implement specific, locally relevant solutions for the good of all humanity.

Inclusive approach

She said the platform crystallised a strategic shift by global development actors to put an increased focus on actions that brought men and boys side by side with women and girls in order to break through the barriers preventing women and girls from achieving their full potential and contributing their potential to the global community.

Ms Djaba said as outlined in core principles of the UN Women’s Strategic Plan 2014-2017, the achievement of gender equality required an inclusive approach that recognised the crucial role of men and boys as partners for women’s rights.

Those principles, she said, built upon the agreed conclusions of the 48th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women held in 2014 that urged men and boys to play a greater role and accountability in the achievement of gender equality.