The Indian High Commissioner to Ghana, Shri Manish Gupta, has asked the government to work with India to empower women in both countries.
He noted that when women were empowered, families and nations benefited as well, underscoring the need to prioritise women’s empowerment.
‘…If you empower women, you empower families and empower the nation as well,’ he said.
Mr Gupta made the call during an event organised by the High Commission to mark International Women’s Day.
Dr Angela Lusigi, UNDP Representation in Ghana, Madam Dorcas Coker-Appiah, Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Center, and Vanisha Daryanani, President of Indian Women Association in Ghana, were among the women who attended the event.
Others included Madam Dakoa Newman, Member of Parliament (MP) for Okaikwei South, Madam Abla Dzifa Gomashie, MP for Ketu South, Madam Zenator Agyemang Rawlings, MP for Korle Klottey, and Madam Elizabeth Sackey, Mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.
Mr Gupta elaborated on the importance of empowerin
g women, stating that India had made progress in empowering women to hold leadership positions in politics, academics, and other areas of life.
He said women had brought about accountability and transparency in India’s city councils, saying while progress had been slow, it was moving in the right direction, stressing the need for partnership to empower more women.
Dr. Angela Lusigi, UNDP Representative in Ghana, noted that women were empowered in only a few domains, notably politics, while others were neglected.
She said that women should have equal access to the labour market, assume leadership roles in both the public and private sectors, participate in peacekeeping, and have access to natural resources.
Madam Dorcas Coker-Appiah of the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Center stated that Ghana had multiple policies that promoted gender equality, but their implementation had impeded progress.
To close that gap, she said the government must prioritise gender issues by allocating funds to imp
lement the policies it had made.
Dr. Zenator Agyeman-Rawlings noted that the government’s failure to put the affirmative action bill into law was the reason for its inability to achieve huge strides in gender equity.
She noted that the law would provide punishment for those who violated it and a check on those in charge of enforcing it.
Source: Ghana News Agency