By Gilbert Azeem Tiroog
Binaba (U/E), Dec. 13, GNA- The Anglican Diocesan Development and Relief Organisation (ADDRO) has engaged the Anglican Mothers Union of Binaba Ach Deaconry in the Bawku West District of the Upper East Region on 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women and girls.
The engagement with the Anglican mothers, numbering over 120, is aimed at raising awareness against gender-based violence and building their capacities as faith actors to advocate for the prevention and end to GBV among the congregants, families, and communities at large.
It also aimed at enabling the Anglican Mothers to serve as trusted voices that could mobilise and sensitise communities on GBV, raise awareness in churches and make the voices of survivors be heard, advocate for laws to be enforced and ensure that perpetrators of GBV are punished, among others.
The activism against GBV falls under ADDRO’s Gender Equity and Social Inclusion (GESI) interventions with funding from the Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) in the United States of America (USA).
The 16 Days of Activism is an international Civil society-led campaign instituted by the United Nations (UN) that takes place on November 25 with aim to eliminate GBV against women and girls and ends on December 10 on Human Rights Day.
This year’s activism is being held on the theme, “Towards Beijing +30: Unite to End Violence against Women and Girls”.
Madam Rebecca Lariba Seidu, Gender Officer, ADDRO, addressing the Anglican mothers, said though many countries have passed laws to combat violence against women, weak enforcement and discriminatory social norms remained a big challenge.
Globally, an estimated 736 million women, thus 1 in 3 women, have been subjected to physical or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at least once in their lifetime.
The Gender Officer emphasised that statistics in Ghana reflect this gloomy global picture, with about 24.4 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 experiencing intimate partner physical or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.
She urged the Anglican mothers to invest in their girls’ education and underscored the need for them to live in harmony with their partners to create an enabling environment for their female wards to aspire to greater heights.
Reflecting on the Bible, Reverend Father Awini Cletus Adongo, Chaplain of the Women Ministry, Binaba Anglican Ach Deaconry, said as faith actors, it was important they acted justly, defend those who are vulnerable, and ensure fairness for those who are marginalised or powerless in society.
That, he explained, would strengthen their relationship with God and urged them to be seen as models of excellence in maintaining their households.
Mr Joseph Agbango, District Gender Officer, Bawku West, who made a presentation on GBV, highlighted different forms of violence including physical, sexual, psychological, spiritual, or economic, and added that it was important they or their female children were not subjected to any of such forms of violence.
He encouraged them to keep their girls in school and engage their partners in the fight to end violence against women and girls.
GNA