On the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD), the Association of Women in the Media (ASWIM) has called on Parliament to pass the Affirmative Action Bill.
This is contained in a press release to mark the day signed by its President, Mavis Kitcher.
ASWIM noted that the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill “…will no doubt, propel the attainment of gender equality to make our society more inclusive and our development successes truly sustainable.
Please read full statement below:
The Association of Women in the Media (ASWIM) is happy to join the world, once again, to celebrate the achievements of women and champion the cause of their accelerated empowerment in 2024 and beyond.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global celebration of the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
International Women’s Day has been observed for over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911.
The day serves as a powerful reminder of the progress made towards gender equality and highlights the work that still needs to be done.
The United Nations’ (UN) theme for this year’s celebration is: “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress”.
The theme reflects Dr Kwegyir Aggrey’s vision of investing in women’s education in order to propel the transformation of communities, which will cascade into national development.
On this Day, UN Women caution that the world is facing many crises – ranging from geopolitical conflicts to soaring poverty levels and the escalating impacts of climate change.
These challenges, it points out, can only be addressed by solutions that empower women.
Should the trend continue, it warns that 320 million women and girls could be living in extreme poverty by 2030.
It also notes that an additional $360 billion is needed per year to achieve gender equality.
However, closing gender gaps in employment could boost GDP per capita by 20 per cent.
“By investing in women, we can spark change and speed the transition towards a healthier, safer, and more equal world for all,” the world body underlines.
Indeed, at the national level, ASWIM is fully aware of the hardships that many of our women are enduring, especially in urban poor and rural communities, and the urgent need to make proactive and productive investments to alleviate their plight.
That said, ASWIM, however, acknowledges the significant efforts made over the decades towards empowering Ghanaian women to achieve a holistic and inclusive national development.
The continuous investments in girls’ education, especially, the inclusive interventions at the national, non governmental, corporate, private and other levels are highly commendable.
Nonetheless, ASWIM notes with concern that sustainable development will not be attained until the gap is bridged at the decision level tables in all sections of our national life.
Ms Ayorkor Botchwey has carried the flag of Ghana high in her tenure as Foreign Minister, and ASWIM has firm confidence in her ability to make Ghana proud when elected into this high international office.
ASWIM wishes her success in this noble endeavour.
The Association also congratulates Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang on her re-nomination as the running mate to the flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress, and wishes her the best.
Additionally, we encourage and support all other women in leadership positions as well as those vying for decision-making positions in various fields in the country to continue surging forward despite the odds.
It is these individual actions of women in the various fields of our society which would help change the status of women in all strata of society and play a significant role in the country’s development.
Finally, ASWIM reiterates its call for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill by Parliament.
This single action, will no doubt, propel the attainment of gender equality to make our society more inclusive and our development successes truly sustainable.
To all women in our dear nation who continually do their best against all odds to positively impact their families and communities, we say congratulations!
ASWIM also takes this opportunity to commend all institutions investing in women and girls to accelerate the nation’s progress.
It is unfortunate that in our current 275-member Parliament, where important decisions and laws are made to advance our nation’s progress, we are represented by only 40 women. The story is similar regarding the leadership representation at the executive, local government, public boards and other relevant levels of decision-making.
It is, therefore, imperative to accelerate actions that will effectively remove the barriers and stereotypes that continue to prevent women from reaching the important decision-making levels in our country.
If this is not urgently done, Ghana will continue to lose the unique perspectives, experiences, innovation and contributions that women can share and implement for maximising the attainment of our sustainable development goals.
The ASWIM believes that the 2024 General Election presents us with another good opportunity to elect more competent women to the largest decision-making body of our nation, the Legislature.
The Association is, therefore, encouraging media organisations and women’s groups to identify and adopt competent and patriotic female Parliamentary Candidates across political parties and support their campaigns to success.
This worthy investment will hopefully increase the representation of women in the next Parliament in our common interest.
It is in the light of this that ASWIM also endorses the candidature of our Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, for the Secretary-General position of the Commonwealth.
Signed:
Mrs Mavis Kitcher
(President)