Oye Lithur calls for renewed commitment to tackle gender equality issues
Nana Oye Lithur, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, on Wednesday called for renewed commitment and attitudinal change to tackle gender equality issues.
She also proposed the involvement of both genders (men and women) as a key strategy in attending to vulnerabilities and the marginalised in the society.
Nana Oye made the call in a speech read on her behalf at an event organised in Accra to mark the 10th Anniversary of the establishment of Women, Peace and Security Institute (WPSI) and UN’s International Women’s Day.
She said persistent stereotyping regarding the roles and responsibilities of women and men in the family and society had contributed towards violence against women and girls.
Nana Oye said though strong global and national mandates had been put in place, there existed significant gaps in the implementation.
“To date, the uneven and inconsistent approach to implementation has resulted in missed opportunities and in under-resourcing of many efforts to enhance gender equality, women’s rights and women’s empowerment within mainstream sector and institutional structures”, she added.
Nana Oye praised the immeasurable contributions made by Ghanaian women including the Institute’s assistance towards the welfare of families and growth of the country.
The WPSI was established at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) following a two-year pilot project funded by the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, United Nations Development Fund and the governments of the Netherlands and Norway.
The Institute is to expand capacity building, training and research support to influence women’s contributions to political peace negotiation processes, operational peacekeeping and security sector reform initiatives and to support the peace and security agenda in Africa.
Brigadier General Benjamin Kusi, Deputy Commandant of KAIPTC, said the day’s event provided the platform for renewed advocacy, comprehensive commitment and partnerships that was critical for creating an enabling environment to end violence against women.
He added that it opened up the opportunity to share lessons and celebrate achievements made in tackling violence against women in Africa.
The day was also used to showcase works and products made by women in the fields of food and agriculture, music, art, vocation and science.
There was also a photo gallery of some outstanding African women who had contributed to women’s empowerment, tackling violence against women and inputs made in socio-economic development, peace and security agenda in Africa.
They included Miss Hanna Tetteh, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Miss Joyce Aryee, former Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Madam Theodosia Okoe, the woman who designed the insignia of the Ghana National flag and Yaa Asantewaa, queen mother of Ejisu in the then Ashanti Empire who led the Ashanti rebellion in 1900 against the British.
Source: GNA