Mr Yaquob
Mrs Safura Abdullah, ActionAid’s Project Officer for Promoting Opportunities for Women Empowerment and Rights, has urged the government to concentrate more in supporting rural women and girls by empowering them to be able to challenge the negative social norms that infringe on their rights in the society.
She explained that there is the need to invest in data collection efforts to understand the nature and state of women and girls in order to track their progress towards nation building.
The call was contained in a petition to commemorate the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, on the theme: ‘Act to Reduce Women Unpaid Work Care to promote Women Economic Justice and End Violence Against Women and Girls.’
It was organised by ActionAid Ghana in collaboration with Songtaba, a non-governmental organisation focusing on securing the rights of women and girls and brought together 31 women groups from 17 communities within the Municipality.
Madam Safura Abdullah called on the government to adapt, strengthen and enforce laws and policies on gender-base as well as establish shelters to meet the needs of women and girls.
She stressed on the need for the establishment of child care centres as well as mainstreaming them into the educational system to help provide free time for women to engage in other productive activities.
Mrs Yussif Awulatu, the Chairperson for Rural Women Farmers of Nanumba North, bemoaned that across the world, women and girls faced gender-based discriminations in availability of infrastructure saying “within our society, men are valued more than women, creating an imbalance of power between genders.”
“Our culture and traditions have always stressed on how women cannot own land, a productive resource for food production and ensuring food security throughout the year and violence against women and girls has resulted in disproportionate responsibilities, denied an income, food security, human capital, and political voice.”
“Women and girls shoulder greater responsibility for unpaid care work – time consuming and challenging – in rural communities where there are poor infrastructure and limited investment in social amenities,” Mrs Awulatu lamented.
Mr Abdulai Yaquob, the District Chief Executive for Nanumba North, commended the two organisations for their sustained efforts in providing support for both women and girls and assured their petition would be discussed at Assembly meetings and ensure the government address the concerns raised and appropriate steps taken to alleviate them. -GNA
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