Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection

Relevance of International Women’s Day- Views from the public

Salomey Appiah Mar - 09 - 2015 , 01:30

As Ghana joins the global celebration of International Women’s Day, a number of women have shared their views on the celebration of the day and also offered suggestions as to what should be done to engage more women in decision making.

Madam Difie Dedo Agyarko Kusi- Politician, Lower Manya NPP parliamentary candidate, 2004 and 2012

International Women's Day is a relevant occasion to celebrate the contributions of women to national development.

However, as a country we seem not to have made many strides in gender equality and equity. For instance, there is still low representation of women in Parliament and in the decision-making process.

The environment itself does not make it conducive for women to actively participate in decision-making because some people have a wrong perception of the capabilities of women.

Therefore, it is important that we keep reminding ourselves that more needs to be done to achieve the gender equality agenda by upholding the relevance of International Women's Day.

The Affirmative Action Bill must be passed and implemented to cater for the interests of women who are in disadvantaged positions.

I also believe that young women should be trained and encouraged to have the confidence to go into politics, while women who are financially capable must also support other women with funds to carry out their political campaigns.

Nana Amponsah Dokuaa III -Paramount Queenmother of Osu and President of the Greater Accra Queenmothers Association

Women have, over the years, contributed immensely to the development of the county in many ways and I think we should be celebrated.

Over the years, Ghana has made strides in women’s empowerment and there has been public education on women’s rights and the need to seek redress for the violation of the rights of women.

Now, we have women at the highest level of education and majority are empowered. For instance, in the chieftaincy institution, queenmothers were not allowed to attend meetings of the Regional and the National houses of chiefs, but now the situation is changing and we have some queenmothers attending meetings of the Regional Houses of Chiefs.

We hope that very soon they will be represented on the National House of Chiefs.

I believe the Beijing Conference of 1995 contributed greatly to these achievements and so kudos to the women who made it possible.

However, more needs to be done to ensure that gender equality is achieved to the fullest.

Mrs Efua Falconer, -MTN External Communications Manager

There have been some achievements in women’s empowerment and the campaign to promote gender equality in Ghana is yielding some results.

But I believe that the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill will give women more hope.

We hope that men will be on the same page with us to ensure gender equality because that is the only way it can be achieved.

As mothers, wives, girlfriends and corporate women, we believe that women’s empowerment has made some strides over the years.

In the corporate world now we have a lot of women who are contributing immensely to the development of their companies and the economy of the country. Although some women are still in disadvantaged positions, many of them are now sensitive to their rights and are empowered.

In my work environment, for example, policies and processes that govern the organisation seek to empower women. For instance, there are women occupying some top positions and the working environment does not discriminate against men or women.

However, at the national level more needs to be done.

Madam Mary Sumaa, -Farmer

We suffer and toil a lot for the sake of our families, especially the children, and I think a day like this needs to be appreciated. There are many reasons to celebrate this day, at least for the fact that more women have moved from just being wives whose roles are limited to the kitchen to become more productive and contributing to national development.

I know there are still challenges, but I appreciate the fact that now I know my rights. I know that I have to educate my girl child and also empower myself financially to be able to buy whatever I need for myself and not solely rely on my husband to get them for me.

Sometimes the men think we do not count in the decision-making process because they provide everything we need, but when you are working and earning your own money, that control is restricted and the perception changes.

We should all be treated equally and also made to enjoy our rights. We thank the women who worked hard for us to enjoy these rights and we hope that governments will continue to effectively implement policies and programmes to enhance the welfare of women.

Dr Angela Ofori-Atta,

Clinical psychologist and senior lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School

Gender disparity is still hanging on our necks, while more women still do not have access to opportunities, compared to men.

When you look at development in general, men still have more access to employment and quality health than women.

This is because many men have more access to higher and quality education than women. However, a day like the International Women's Day is important to celebrate the successes chalked up, while we remind ourselves that there are still challenges hindering gender equality and equity in Ghana.

Countries such as Norway and others have made strides because they made women’s issues a national focus. I am not saying Ghana has not made strides; we have, but more needs to be done.

For instance, there have been instances when there were more women in the University of Ghana Medical School than men.

My mother was a pilot and I believe more women can be encouraged into such fields. To push the agenda for gender equality, the Affirmative Action Bill is very important to grant more women the needed access. We need to raise our young women to be confident and educated.

Madam Ramatu Abubakar, -Trader

I think women’s empowerment has, over the years, made a great impact. Now majority of women know that it is an offence for their husbands to beat or maltreat them because it is against the law.

I believe things have changed a lot because now we have seen the need to educate the girl child, instead of restricting her to perform household chores, with the intention of grooming her for marriage.

I want to see my girl child pursue higher education to the level that I could not reach, so that she can become a prominent person in society.