Mrs Hamida Harrison, a Steering Committee member of the Affirmative Action Bill Coalition (AABill Coalition) is urging government to facilitate the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill to hasten Ghana’s journey towards achieving gender equality and sustainable development.
“We may hold different views about women’s right, gender equality, and women’s inclusion in public life but what is very clear is that, without inclusion of women in national development there would be no sustainable development,” she said.
Mrs Harrison made the call during a training programme in Accra for journalists by the AABill Coalition on the need for an Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) law for Ghana and to solicit their support and advocacy in its passage.
It was with support from the Netherlands Embassy through the Equal Rights and Opportunities for Women Project (EROP) being implemented by the SRHR Alliance for Young People, African Centre for Human Rights and Sustainable Development, and Women in Need.
Mrs Harrison said many post-2015 studies and reviews showed that countries that performed poorly in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals did so because of their failure to pay attention to gender equality.
She said if Ghana should pay more attention to gender equality the country would be heading towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs).
The outcome of Ghana’s 2020 elections showed that only 40 women managed to get into the 275-member Parliament, a situation which demonstrated the persistence of gender inequality in Ghana, she said.