Mr. Mumuni Alhassan, member of Parliament (MP) for Salaga North has called for a review of the cultures that marginalise women in order to create equal opportunities for their development
Women, he said, have demonstrated their capability to contribute to development in all spheres of life hence all barriers against their involvement should be removed.
He indicated that women deserve equal opportunities in terms of acquiring education, at the workplace and even in participation in decision making.
Mr. Mumuni made these statements at the on-going 59th session of the Commission of the Status of Women (CSW) at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
This year’s session, which has the theme “Implementing the Beijing Platform for Action,” is also in commemoration of 20 years of the Beijing Conference on women.
Special MPs session
Mr. Mumuni is one of three MPs, including Ms. Laadi Ayii Ayamba, MP for Pusiga, who is also the chairperson of the Parliament Select committee on Gender and Children and Ms. Gifty Kusi, ranking member of the committee attending the conference.
The three MPs participated in a special session for parliamentarians titled, ‘Parliaments for Gender Equality – Priorities for Beijing + 20,’ which discussed the achievements and challenges of parliaments in pushing for women to be part of development.
“Those who attend such conferences should be advocates for opportunities to be given to women,” Mr. Mumuni concluded.
Ms. Ayamba noted that although Ghana had since 1995 instituted laws towards gender equity, very little has been achieved with regards to implementation.
She cited for instance that the Law on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) has not achieved the desired impact because though the practice is still going on, only four perpetrators have so far faced the law.
Ms. Ayamba pointed out that the constitution guarantees gender equality, while the labour law also guarantees the right to equal pay for equal work.
Progress not evenly distributed
The ranking member of the gender committee, Ms Gifty Kusi said most of the gender equality laws were passed in Ghana without resistance but progress achieved has not been evenly distributed.
However, she observed, there are signs of progress, manifested in increasing number of women now reporting gender based violence, particularly rape.
Ms. Kusi noted that the society is deep rooted in patriarchy and this poses a major obstacle to achieving gender equality “as it will take a long while to dismantle male dominance.”
Regrettably, some men are not aware of their actions which impinge on the rights of women but the way forward is to have the support of all men, she added.
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