By Rachel Kakraba
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection is reviewing the National Gender Policy to include emerging issues of climate change. It would also design climate change mitigation and adaptation programmes to strengthen collaboration with all key actors to ensure that gender is adequately main-streamed in the management of climate change.
This has become necessary as adverse effects of climate change affect the safety and security of women and girls in the face of limited access to natural resources, such as clean water, transport, energy, sanitation and housing among others.
“The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection as part of its mandate is reviewing and updating the national gender policy to include the emerging issues of climate change”
Caretaker Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, announced this at the media launch of this year’s International Women’s Day, in Accra.
The event was organised by the Ministry, through the Department of Gender with support from the European Union in Ghana, Global Affairs Canada and other partners. Commemorated under the theme ”Equality today for a sustainable tomorrow”, break the bias, it seeks to recognize the importance of women and girls around the world who are leading the charge on climate change adaptation, mitigation and response to build a more sustainable future for all.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is set aside by the United Nations to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women.
Caretaker Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Cecilia Abena Dapaah said, Ghana adopted the theme to celebrate the tremendous efforts by women and girls to shape an equal future devoid of the negative impact of climate change.
She said gender equality and climate change remain central to Ghana’s development agenda as indicated in the National Medium Term Development Policy for 2022-2025, adding the policy is to promote reduction of deforestation and ensure gender equality.
“The policy framework among other key areas addresses gender equality and climate to promote reduction of deforestation and ensure gender equality, increase productive use of clean water good energy and safer environment.”
Madam Dapaah, in recognising the contribution of women to society called for an end to all forms of discrimination against them.
She added “We are calling on all and sundry to make a deliberate effort towards involving women in all climate change interventions to increase women’s access to climate information, providing climate smart practices and technologies to help build their capacity and also leadership decisions and processes especially at the Community levels.
“We firmly believe that there can not be sustainable development if the barriers which hold back women are not addressed”.
Madam Dapaah, was grateful to individuals and groups who have been working tirelessly to break structural barriers to women empowerment, gender and equality to build a sustainable resilient society.
The Resident Representative of the UN Country Team, Madam Ifeoma Charles-Monwuba, said adverse effects of climate change have dire consequences on especially women and girls.
“The destruction of households and livelihoods and the loss of livestock and crops due to severe drought have informed the reality for communities affected by climate change. In some cases this loss of livelihood leads to increases in transactional sex, leading to teenage pregnancies”.
She intimated, women and adolescent girls should be empowered and supported to develop innovative solutions to improve their immediate Community.
Representative, Human Development, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development office, FCDO, Enyonam Azumah, said the UK government through its projects in Ghana seeks to positively change society’s negative perception of women and girls to unlock their potential. She added although strides have been made in attaining gender parity in access to school, some gender gaps still persist.
“While there is parity across genders in access to school nationwide, there’s still significant gender disparities in specific regions and districts and the gender gap in school completion widens as girls get older.”
She said through the Accelerated Action to ‘End Child Marriage’ which is being implemented by UNICEF and UNFPA, support is being provided to end child marriage.
She said safe spaces have been created in communities, to target marginalized girls to provide them with life skills training and adolescents sexual productive health information.
Madam Azumah, added police officers as well as coordinators of the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit, have been trained on the effective handling of Sexual and Gender Based Violence cases including child marriage.
She said the UK is committed to addressing the root causes of gender inequality to empower girls and women in the face of covid-19 to enable them have voice, choice and control over their lives.
Activities to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day, includes, cooking competition, what do you know quiz competition, which will take place in the Studios of the National Broadcaster GBC on Sunday 6th March as well as a seminar on the theme “Empowering the Ghanaian women for a sustainable tomorrow”.
