Partners call for increased female leadership
8 March 2021Partners including Plan International Ghana came together to mark International Women’s Day and call for increased female leadership.
Partners including Plan International Ghana came together to mark International Women’s Day and call for increased female leadership.
Plan International Ghana in partnership with the Alliance of Feminist CSOs (AFCSOs), is advocated for girls to take up leadership positions at various levels across the country to mark International Women’s Day.
Mr. Ahensah Asum-Kwarteng, Head of Programmes and Influencing at Plan International Ghana, highlighted a report showing that women-led governments performed better in the COVID-19 response. It also showed that about 70% of global health workers at the forefront of the COVID-19 response were women, yet they were often left out of decision making.
Increasing women’s participation in all levels of decision-making, he said, was very valuable. “We need to encourage girls to take leadership roles at schools, communities and district levels right from a tender age to transform mindsets and empower relations.”
COVID-19 affects vulnerable girls and women
Madam Alimatu Issahak, the Convener of the AFCSOs, said COVID-19 had exposed the vulnerability of many women and girls to the intensity and effects of inequality, adding that it had overwhelmed health systems across the world.
A survey conducted on the primary and secondary effects of COVID-19 on women and girls in Ghana showed that COVID-19 had affected their health and limited their access to different dimensions of their well-being such as child protection, education and employment among others.
She said Ghanaian women continued to experience violence, especially during the COVID-19 lockdown periods. Madam Issahak said women, irrespective of their challenges, continued to strive hard to survive and therefore, ought to be celebrated.
Mrs. Joyce Bawa Mogtari, a lawyer speaking on the impact of COVID-19 on women’s political participation and leadership, said 243 million girls globally had suffered abuse and different forms of violence coupled with many other things that afflicted women as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Women should lead in all areas
She encouraged civil society organisations to educate the public to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and facilitate free testing. She said women had to take up more leadership positions in many institutions including churches, mosques, financial entities, governance and health, among others.
Mrs. Sabia Kpekata, the Principal Programme Officer at the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, asked women across the country and the globe to use the 2021 International Women’s Day celebration to empower and promote the rights of women globally.
She said the COVID-19 pandemic had brought to the fore the need to take appropriate actions to tackle issues affecting vulnerable women and girls. Such issues included increased risks of sexual and gender-based violence, unemployment, unequal distribution of care and domestic work, and unequal representation.
To increase representation of women in decision-making, she called for equal opportunities and encouraged organisations to elect and appoint women into leadership positions.
Youth empowerment, Civic engagement, COVID-19, girls’ leadership
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