Bolgatanga: Women and youth groups, Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and key state agencies in the Upper East Region have been engaged on Ghana's Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act, as part of efforts to strengthen advocacy for its full implementation.
According to Ghana News Agency, the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act of 2024, Act 1121, is designed to address the country's social, cultural, economic, and political gender imbalances that arise from historical discrimination against women and the persistence of patriarchal socio-cultural systems and norms. The Act aims to promote gender equity and women's empowerment in both public and private sectors, ensuring that policies and strategies are deliberately mainstreamed into governance systems to enhance women's representation and empowerment.
The engagement is part of the Power to Youth-Ghana project, implemented by a consortium of three non-governmental organisations: GH-Alliance, Norsaac, and Songtaba, with funding from the Dutch Embassy in Ghana. The project seeks to create safe spaces for victims of abuse and empower adolescents and young people, particularly women and girls, to address underlying issues such as gender-based violence, gender inequality, child marriages, and teenage pregnancies among other sociocultural practices.
Ms. Dorcas Manortey-Aggrey, Executive Secretary, highlighted the importance of empowering gender-focused groups and CSOs to intensify the needed advocacy for the full implementation of the Act. She emphasized that it is crucial for stakeholders and groups capable of influencing change to be informed and equipped to ensure the Act's provisions reach the local level.
She stressed the significant contributions of women at various societal levels, noting that providing more opportunities and resources for women would help bridge the gender gap and accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly goal five, which focuses on achieving gender parity by 2030.
In a presentation on the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act, Mr. Adam Abugbila, Programs Coordinator of GH-Alliance, pointed out that despite the Act's aim to ensure equality and equity, there are gaps that need amendment. He noted that while the Act mandates at least 40 percent representation of women in institutions and the mainstreaming of gender-responsive policies, it lacks specified sanctions for non-compliance.
Mr. Majeed Mumuni, Assistant Programs Officer at the Upper East Regional Directorate of the National Youth Authority, stated that the training was timely as it would empower youth groups to educate their peers about the Act and how it could be used for their growth.
Ms. Gifty Abubire, a member of the Young Urban Women Movement, expressed that she gained valuable insights into the Act's provisions and committed to sharing the knowledge with her colleagues to maximize its impact.