MAKE WOMEN'S WEEK MEANINGFUL (APRIL 25, 2009)

The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs has revived the celebration of Women’s Week in the country. The celebration, which began on April 17, this year, is part of the government’s agenda to create awareness of women’s rights and encourage their participation in the decision-making process.
This year’s celebration, which was marked on the theme, 'Women and men working together for a better Ghana', was climaxed with a forum that brought together representatives of various women's groups and organisations, members of the Diplomatic Corps and a former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, who has been at the forefront of women's empowerment through the 31st December Women's Movement.
Elaborating on the importance of the event, the Vice-President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, who addressed the forum, said the government deemed it necessary to revive the celebration in conformity with its commitment to ensure that the fundamental rights and freedoms of women were protected as enshrined in the Constitution.
Despite laudable programmes by the government to improve on the welfare of women, the fact still remains that a number of challenges still confront women, which the nation needs to work hard to address.
Statistics indicate that maternal mortality figures in the country are still high as a result of other associated risks and ill health conditions, while a number of women remain largely excluded from the upper ranks of government and business.
Records at the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service indicate that more women continue to suffer domestic violence, while more children are defiled, with a number of women lacking access to justice.
The Daily Graphic contends that while the government has demonstrated commitment to the empowerment of women with the appointment of more females to key decision-making positions to enable them to participate effectively in the governance of the country, we need to do more, since women constitute about 51 per cent of the nation’s population.
We also need concerted efforts to protect women from rape, defilement and other forms of domestic abuse and also step up the fight against harmful practices and discrimination against women in the country.
The celebration of Women’s Week should help to expand the scope of women’s empowerment. The Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, the Ministry of Employment and Social Welfare and other related agencies need to work in collaboration with governmental and non-governmental organisations and the business community to actualise resolutions, policies and programmes for women's advancement and empowerment.
The attainment of the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) depends on our support for women, who are in the majority in the country, to contribute to nation-building.
All hands must be on deck towards the implementation of the Platform for Action and strategies to accelerate processes towards empowering women and achieving gender equality.
The Daily Graphic, therefore, commends the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs for reintroducing the celebration of Women’s Week to focus on the challenges facing women with the view to finding solutions to them.