Some women of significant influence in society have called for concerted effort to create the needed environment for women to be “whatever they aspire to be” at a women’s summit.
The Summit, organized by Joy 99.7 FM, in collaboration with the Alliance for Women in Media Africa (AWMA) and currently underway at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, is under the theme, “Shaping a Balanced Future free of Violence against Women.”
The forum, which is expected to highlight the struggles, vulnerabilities, representations and most importantly the inspiring success stories of women, is part of activities being done by the organizers ahead of tomorrow’s International Women's Day.
International Women's Day (IWD) is celebrated on March 8 every year. It is a focal point in the movement for women's rights.
Using her life’s experience as an example, a former minister of Gender, Child and Social Protection Nana Oye Lithur, has encouraged participants to be whatever they aspire to be, “I consult, I am a legal practitioner, so women can be what they want to be”, she said.
On her part, law lecturer at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration law school, Clara Beeri Kasser Tee, said society needs to spend more time with girls. She is calling on women to nurture, groom and mentor more girls. She is also calling on the government and corporate institutions to break the barriers confronting women.
Other persons who attended today’s event included Audrey Gadzekpo, the Dean School of Communication studies, Angela Dwomoh, Country Manager of IBM Ghana and Angela Dwamena Aboagye, a gender activist.
On the women’s day, history recounts how after the Socialist Party of America organized a Women's Day on February 28, 1909 in New York, the 1910 International Socialist Woman's Conference suggested a Women's Day be held annually.
After women gained suffrage in Soviet Russia in 1917, March 8 became a national holiday there. The day was then predominantly celebrated by the socialist movement and communist countries until it was adopted in 1975 by the United Nations.
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