The origins of the concept of empowerment in Ghana dates back to history.
In 1975, the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) was established as a policy-making body by NRCD decree 322 in response to a United Nations (UN) resolution for member states to establish an appropriate government machinery to accelerate the integration of women in development and advice the government on matters relating to women.
Over the years, the NCWD recorded major achievements in law reform that include the laws on intestate succession, laws to criminalise harmful cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and harmful widowhood rites.
In 2001, the status was raised from a council to a ministry and named as the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, which later became the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP).
It’s been 41 years, since empowering women occupied the centre stage of development initiatives in the country. A gender and social protection policy and child rights policy has been developed and endorsed by government. These policies have yielded positive results in the areas of policy formulation and coordination on gender issues and weaknesses in implementation of various laws strengthened.
We commend the Nana Akufo-Addo-led NPP government for strengthening the status of women further with the appointment of the first female Chief of Staff and female cabinet ministers and chief executives.
We would like to pay tribute to some inspirational people like Hon AkosuaFremaOseiOpare, Chief of Staff, H E Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, Nana KonaduAgyeman Rawlings, former First Lady and founder of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Rt Honorable Joyce Adeline BamfordAddo, Professor Mrs. Florence Dolpyne, Mrs. Jane Cole, Mrs. Molly Anim- Addo and Mrs. Elizabeth Akpaloo.
I would also like to remember Mrs. Selina Taylor, Justice Mrs. Annie Jiagge and Mrs. Agnes Akuffo, also Honorable Dr. Mrs. Mary Grant and Professor Patrick Twumasi of blessed memory for the zeal and the passionate manner they promoted women into public life. May their souls rest in the everlasting peace of the Lord.
As we honour our foremothers and fathers, we also contemplate on the history of women’s empowerment, review works accomplished and our vision, and the way forward should be our prime focus.
The Ministry of Gender and Social Protection should be strengthened to play active and catalytic role to facilitate cooperation between all agencies of government, non-governmental organisations and women’s groups and other actors in civil society to effectively collate data, formulate, influence and implement policies to advance the cause of women in development.
Examples of such partnerships can be found in working relationships with government ministries and departments, some of which operate women’s desks namely Education, Agriculture, Health and Trade Union Congress.
The Ministry could also influence policies of government through its representation on major boards, councils, commissions and committees.
In addition, the ministries of Finance, Health, Agriculture, Education, Local Government and Rural Development have representation on the Ministry’s policy -making board.
The Ministry through these linkages will be able to ensure that gender issues are incorporated into national policies.
The government’s commitment to gender equality has not been backed by the requisite funds. The Ministry does not command enough resources to ensure implementation of all aspects of its wide mandate. (The budget is mainly approved for conferences, workshops and training). In practice therefore, the Ministry’s wide mandate has been limited, and has relied mostly on the goodwill of donors.
The Ministry has the potential to improve the policy environment in the interest of women given the needed funds.
Within its limited confines and in spite of its shortcomings, it has been able to initiate policies to abolish certain practices, which are inimical to women’s achievement. The Ministry also initiated a policy for the establishment of credit fund for women and the School Feeding Programme for school children.
It has also addressed the spatial imbalance of girl’s education by putting in place a Women’s Desk within the Ministry of Education and a girl’s education unit to deal with education.
Other initiatives such as scholarship schemes for deprived girl children and best teacher awards have been undertaken to correct this imbalance.
An affirmative action policy has also been instituted in the country’s universities to increase female intake into the university programmes.
Given the right environment therefore the Ministry can push its agenda forward and provide the appropriate direction to integrate gender issues into the policy environment for the national developmental process.
The challenges in ensuring gender balance in development are financial, human and material resources, as well as attitudinal changes. Meeting these challenges will require efforts at international, national, regional, district, community and individual levels. There is therefore the need to intensify our linkages and networks at the regional, sub-regional and international levels through constant dialogue, exchange of information, sharing of experiences and good practices and the injection of capital inflows through private investments and continued donor support.
Finally, as women, we need to have enough courage to overcome our political divide to work for the advancement of women and girls and equal status and equal rights for women and men.
By Gifty Ohene Konadu, Coordinator of 1D1F