UN in Ghana and Gender Ministry celebrate International Women’s Day

Women are an important part of the 8 billion population of the world and are driving the change in the present to make the world a better place. March 8 of every year is marked as International Women’s Day to celebrate all women across the globe and to appreciate their political, cultural, economic, and social achievements. As part of this year’s celebration, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection in collaboration with the United Nations in Ghana and key partners held a commemorative event at the forecourt of the Ministry.

The theme for this year’s celebration is “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”. The theme focuses on the under-representation of women in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

The UN Resident Coordinator in Ghana, Mr. Charles Abani, in a statement read on his behalf by Dr. Wilfred Ochan, said women and girls mostly deal with cyberbullying, sextortion, image-based abuse, and harassment and are mostly forced out of the limited digital spaces that they occupy. “These problems can and must be solved and put under control in order to make women feel comfortable in the tech space,” he stated.

Highlighting the importance of technology, innovation, agriculture, peace and the role of women, the Deputy Head of Delegation of the European Union to Ghana, Pieter Smidt Van Gelder, said the path to women’s equality has been long and challenging. He said there is much to celebrate about women’s achievements although there is still more to do. “Let’s embrace equality and build a better world for women everywhere so we can collectively forge a positive change” he added.

Gender stereotyping and all forms of gender-based violence in societies are key challenges that impede the promotion of innovation and technology for gender equality. The Deputy Minister for Gender, Children, and Social Protection, Hon. Francisca Oteng Mensah highlighted the need for education to change the negative perception that women do not belong in the front row of innovation and technological change. Addressing some of these issues, the Deputy Minister said the Ministry has taken steps to review and update the National Gender Policy, which will create equal opportunities for all by mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment concerns into the national development process to improve the social, political and economic conditions of the country. She mentioned the United Nations population Fund (UNFPA)’s BOAME App and the Orange Support Centre established in collaboration with the Ministry to support the fight against domestic and gender-based violence. The BOAME App is an innovative platform that supports survivors of domestic and gender-based violence to talk to relevant resource persons.

The event which started with a walk dubbed “national equity walk” from the Kwame Nkrumah Circle to the forecourt of the Ministry aimed to educate and create awareness for equity for women in every endeavor.