Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)
Edmond Gyebi
26 May 2004
Sunyani — We want increase participation in decision-making.
Women from all the ten regions in Ghana with diverse backgrounds, occupations, ages, abilities and challenges have raised serious concerns about the horrific situation of women and children in the country.
The women were most concerned about the continued economic decline, rising levels of poverty, aid dependency and foreign domination of economic decision-making, leading to the loss of national accountability after 25 years of structural adjustment programs in Africa.
They were also alarmed by the unacceptable high incidence of maternal and infant mortality and deaths from illegal and unsafe abortions, arising from poor antenatal care, weak reproductive rights and practices.
Based on these factors, the partcipants, in series of meetings from June 2003 to May 2004 deliberated on the situation of women and the nation at large.
The women, after their meetings, came out with a historical document known as "The Women's Manifesto" which would serve as a mechanism that would progressively draw the attention of the government, politicians, chiefs among others, to their needs and concerns to enable them participate actively in public affairs and national development.
The manifesto was reviewed at the meetings attended also by government officials, political party executives, NGOs, constitutional bodies and the media in Sunyani.
They were confident that with fortitude, they could make positive changes in the situation of women, men and children and achieve gender equality in all aspects of life.
The women said they believed that Ghana's economy would continue to be in a state of almost permanent crises because of the country's dependency on cocoa and gold, industrialization and technological development.
They therefore urged the government to undertake a fundamental review of economic policies to promote the well being and security of women and men and ensure a reversal of past economic policy failures.
They also asked the government to reverse the practices that have given international financial institutions and governments control of Ghana's economic decision making.
The women charged the government and other relevant agencies to institute measures to protect children from child trafficking.
In the document, the women also gave the government, the Ministry of Employment and ManpowerDevelopment, the TUC, SSNIT, Social Welfare and other employers an eleven year - ultimatum to ensure that social security arrangements were put in place to cover all working women and men in the formal and informal sectors.
To ensure that the laws of Ghana become effective instruments for gender justice, the women implored the government to take immediate steps before 2008 to initiate a constitutional review process to ensure equitable implementation of the principles of fundamental human rights and freedom, economic and social rights for all.
The Gender Co-ordinator for Action Aid Ghana, Mrs. Rosalyn Baaltonkuu Obeng-Ofori and the Assistant Program manager of Advocacy Unit of CEDEP, Mrs. Patience Dapaah emphasized that the "women's manifesto" is not formulated to combat men, the government or any organization, but rather to ensure just treatment for both men and women.
They said, the document, if accepted and recognized by all, would strengthen the Domestic Violence Bill, the Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) and other human rights institutions.
Mrs. Baaltonkuu appealed to MOWAC to establish places of refuge for women and children who would suffer any violence in all the 10 regions to make the Bill a reality.
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