President Akufo-Addo has done more on women empowerment — Pressure group

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has demonstrated more than enough to justify his unflinching love, respect and support for women empowerment in Ghana, a pressure group, Concerned Voters Movement (CVM) has said.

According to the group, “no propaganda can outshine the remarkable achievements of President Akufo-Addo in the area of women empowerment”.
A statement issued and signed by its founder, Mr Razak Opoku, outlined some of the achievements the President had made under women empowerment.

Achievements

On the creation of a platform for feminists, journalists and gender advocates in Ghana, the statement pointed that President Akufo-Addo, as an Attorney-General and Minister of Justice in the Kufuor Administration, was responsible for the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law.

“Before the repeal of the Criminal Libel law, the culture of silence was the order of the day under the NDC administration,” it stated.

The statement further noted that the repeal of the Criminal Libel law by President Akufo-Addo completely erased the culture of silence in Ghana and gave voice to the voiceless and an opportunity to more females to join the media and journalism profession.

Regarding female mentorship and development, the statement applauded President Akufo-Addo for dedicating his life over the years to mentor and develop women, adding, “most of such women are serving the country in different capacities now”.

“Through President Akufo-Addo, Ghana is benefiting from the services of seasoned female lawyers such as Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, Joyce Darko, Ursula Owusu and several others. He trained and mentored these women to become who they are today,” the statement indicated.

More females

On the Free Senior High School Policy, the CVM explained that it was introduced to give equal opportunity to more females to experience free quality education.

“Feminism would have been a total waste of time without education. It is equally a fact that the more women become enlightened through education the more they are able to join forces together to fight for equal rights in society,” the group stated.

Touching on female ministers, the statement alluded that President Akufo-Addo had more female cabinet ministers and female sector ministers than his predecessors.

“Three key strategic Cabinet ministries namely, Foreign Affairs, Local Government & Rural Development and Attorney General and Ministry of Justice are all in the hands of women,” it stated.

According to the statement, President Akufo-Addo's government had also appointed more female deputy ministers than his predecessors, adding that some of the regional coordinating councils equally have female ministers and deputy ministers.

Presidency

The peak of President Akufo-Addo’s support to women empowerment, according to the statement, could be seen at the Presidency.

“President Akufo-Addo has given Ghanaians the first female Chief of Staff in the Fourth Republic. Apart from the female Chief of Staff, there are the female Procurement Minister, female Secretary to the Cabinet and the female Deputy Director of Communications at the Presidency,” the CVM stated.