Commemoration Of International Women’s Day ? 8th March 2013

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On the occasion of the International Day for Women, the European Union (EU) Delegation to Ghana reiterates its commitment to the support for the advancement of women in all spheres of life as part of its obligation to the development of human kind. The issue of women’s empowerment has gained currency in Ghana and is largely driven by various women organisations in the country. These organisations have made tremendous efforts in reaching out to all relevant stakeholders to put forward the case for ensuring gender equality in the Ghanaian society. Some of these organisations came together to develop the Women’s Manifesto and have also contributed to the drafting of the affirmative action for women currently before government.

 

The European Union Delegation to Ghana has followed these developments with keen interest. Indeed these considerations as well as the outcome of the 2008 general elections which saw a drop in the number of women representation in Parliament informed the EU’s decision to launch a call in 2009 under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights to promote women’s participation in politics. The EU felt that it was important to give ample time for organisations to plan and execute their activities to ensure that a formidable and convincing case is made to the general public and the political leadership to ensure increased representation of women public office. This consideration therefore informed the EU’s decision to launch this call three years ahead of the general elections in December 2012.

 

The EU disbursed over 2.3 million EUR to 8 organisations to undertake activities related to the support for women in politics and promoting peaceful, free and fair elections. Five of these organisations have focused on supporting the inclusion and participation of women in politics.

 

Looking back the EU is satisfied that the support given to these organisations have been worthwhile. All the five women’s organisations undertook various activities, which enabled them to engage with ordinary Ghanaians, political parties, traditional rulers, various interest groups, etc. to convince them to give priority to gender equality in the national agenda. There is ample justification for this, considering the fact that women constitute a little over half the population of Ghana. In order to realise its full potential for development, it is important for Ghana to actively involve women in the decision-making process at the community, local and national levels.

 

The five organisations that were provided with grants all focused on promoting increased women’s participation and representation in politics at both local and national levels. The Women in Law and Development Foundation together with its partners and collaborators (WILDAF) worked at both the local and national level in order to place the issue of Women’s representation in politics on top of the national agenda. They constituted the Coalitions of Women in Governance (COWIGs) at the local level. At the national level WILDAF organised a series of meetings with political parties to lobby for the election of female candidates at the Parliamentary primaries. Media engagement was also used to facilitate the interactions between citizens and presidential candidates or their representatives to advocate for increased women’s representation in politics.

 

ABANTU worked with other interest groups such as NetRight to campaign for the adoption of an affirmative action policy in favour of women. The intervention by ABANTU has contributed to the establishment of a National Affirmative Action Committee and a Drafting Committee on Affirmative Action. ABANTU is represented on both committees, a clear indication of the success of the policy advocacy component of the project.

 

The Institute of Economic Affairs facilitated roundtable discussions on various topics affecting the advancement of women in society and their contribution to national development.

 

The Ghana Developing Communities Association and Concern Universal were also focused at the local level animating discussions about the need to promote women’s participation in politics.

 

All these efforts have contributed to the enhanced interest of women in politics as demonstrated by the numbers of women who offered themselves for elective positions during the 2012 general elections. A total of 1077 women offered themselves and 133 women were successful at political primaries.

 

On the issue of the economic empowerment of women, the EU has provided about 880,000 EUR to PlaNet Finance to support women working in the shea nut business in the Northern Region of Ghana. These women are being supported with energy efficient stoves and training in the use of ICT for market access.

 

On this important occasion we wish to express the EU’s commitment and support to all women and to restate the EU’s admiration for the wonderful work of women at the family, community, local and national level.

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