Ho marks International Women’s Day
This year’s International Women’s Day has been marked in Ho with a technology forum and fair for women and girls.
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The celebration was on the theme: “DigitALL- Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality”.
The day was set aside by the United Nations in 1975 to recognise and celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women globally.
It was also to draw the world’s attention to areas requiring further action, and the need to accelerate gender equality.
The Volta Regional Director of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe, said at the opening ceremony yesterday that gender equality was a tool for unearthing human resource potentials in society for sustainable development.
Therefore, she said, it was important to recognise the tenets of gender equality to ensure equal roles, rights and equal access to productive resources by all and sundry.
“This process requires some serious equity measures, considering the patriarchal nature of our society and entrenched norms,” Mrs Kpe added.
ICT
Touching on the theme, she said it was necessary to create avenues for constant skills development for girls on the importance of ICT, for gender equality.
Mrs Kpe said the role of traditional authorities in protecting the rights and welfare of women was crucial because most of the discrimination, stereotyping and violence perpetrated against women were carried out under the guise of culture and tradition.
“Pressing for gender equality means we must abolish or modify some of these practices that continue to subjugate women and prevent them from achieving their full potential,” she maintained.
The Volta Regional Minister, Dr Archibald Yao Letsa, who graced the occasion, said women had occupied key positions in Ghana, including becoming Speakers of Parliament, Chief Justices, Ministers of State, Chief Executives, entrepreneurs and leaders of businesses.
“Indeed, the Volta Region has also produced some very eminent women over the years, including Industrialist Esther Ocloo, the first woman in Ghana and the Commonwealth of Nations to become a judge, Mrs Justice Anny Jiagge, renowned lawyer Hillary Gbedema, International journalist and politician Elizabeth Ohene and the first female Brigadier General of the Ghana Armed Forces, the late Brigadier General Constance Emefa Edjeani-Afenu and many others,” he added.
However, Dr Letsa said it was disheartening to learn that despite all these strides, women continued to face many challenges that had deepened the gender gap, which, if not quickly addressed, might continue to widen the gender inequality gap in the region.
He said the key among them was the low representation of women in decision-making at local levels.
“Currently, the region has less than seven per cent of women elected to the 18 municipal and district assemblies in the region, with about four assemblies having no elected women at all.
“Again, low access to capital and productive resources, sexual and gender-based and other forms of domestic violence, adolescent pregnancy, the burden of unpaid care work and unequal opportunities in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for women, remain challenges that are yet to be surmounted,” the regional minister pointed out.
Some of the traders who took part in the event said it was now fascinating for them to transact business online.