Passing affirmative action bill will be a legacy – Akufo-Addo told

Country director for Care International, Elkanah Odembo, has joined calls for the passage of Ghana’s gender equality and affirmative action bill into law. At this year’s International Women’s Day celebration at  Breman Asikuma in the Central Region, ambassador Odembo observed passing the bill into law has been long overdue. This year’s celebration was themed “press for progress,” but Care International chose “The role of men in women’s development” as the theme for the celebration at Breman Asikuma. It brought together women from 50 communities within the Asikuma Odobeng Brakwa district with some men backing them. As part of activities to mark the day, a walk in solidarity for gender parity was embarked on through the principal streets of Breman Asikuma. At a durbar, project manager for Cocoa Sustainability Initiative Dr. Theophilus Nkansah who read a speech on behalf of ambassador Odembo explained the bill, if passed into law, would be a tremendous legacy for the Akufo-Addo-led government He noted its passage would bridge the gap between male and female participation in governance. Ghana, he said, cannot be truly liberated as long as women and girls are left on the margins, hence called for the rights of girls and women to be made a top development priority. Programme manager for Governance, Frank Bodza and DCE for Asikuma Odobeng Brakwa, Isaac Odoom, urged Ghanaians to respect the rights of women and move away from giving girls for early marriage. By Lucy Ayambilla|TV3|3news.com|Ghana]]>