By Godfred Aaneamenga Polkuu, GNA
Bolgatanga, Dec. 15, GNA – The Young Urban Women Movement (YUWM), an advocate group affiliated to ActionAid Ghana (AAG), says women and girls across Ghana continue to bear painful burdens, which must be shared by all in the society.
The group said heavy, invisible and painful burdens such as unpaid care work, economic inequality, Gender-Based Violence (GBV), discrimination, restrictive norms and unequal access to education, leadership and resources to women and girls weighed down their dreams, health, dignity and future.
The YUWM, which sought to empower women to advocate better opportunities and rights in sexual and GBV with support from AAG, joined the world to mark the climax of the 16 days of activism campaign against GBV.
Holding placards with inscriptions; “Take off her burden! End GBV now”, “Protect women and girls from online and offline abuse”, “Women rights are human rights” among others, the young women went on float on major streets in the Bolgatanga Municipality as part of the campaign against GBV.
The young women symbolically carried the burdens of women on their heads, just as they did in real life.
Flanked by members of the Movement, Ms Dorcas Yingura Zoogah, the Chairperson of the YUWM, who addressed journalists after the float said, “We appear as the reality women live: carrying loads that represent the physical, emotional, social and economic oppression women confront from dawn to dusk.”
She said the symbolic demonstration of the burdens was a graphic display of hidden violence in homes, streets, workplaces, schools and online spaces.
“Our message is simple yet urgent: women are doing more than society acknowledges. Women are carrying more than the world sees. And these burdens must be removed not endured.
“As we climax our 16 days of activism, we call on government institutions, traditional authorities, community leaders, the media, and every Ghanaian to unite in ending all forms of violence against women and girls,” she said.
The Chairperson said, “We demand stronger protection systems for survivors, accountability for perpetrators, investment in women’s economic empowerment, support for reducing unpaid care work, safe digital spaces and social systems that uplift, rather than weigh women down.”
Ms Zoogah said women deserved safety, dignity, equity, and freedom from violence adding that, “The YUWM stands committed to amplifying women’s voices until every burden is lifted and every woman walks freely and powerfully in her own space.”
GNA
Edited by Caesar Abagali/Lydia Kukua Asamoah