By Hafsa Obeng
Accra, Oct. 26, GNA – Plan International/Women’s Voice and Leadership Project (WVL Ghana) in collaboration with WiLDAF Ghana and NET RIGHT on Tuesday organised a one-day national advocacy workshop for Women’s Rights organisations (CROs), in Accra.
The workshop forms part of planned activities to develop a common feminist advocacy agenda with action plans within the framework of the WVL Project for implementation geared towards addressing women’s rights issues in Ghana.
Mrs Patricia Isabella Essel, Project Lead -WVL Ghana, said the WVL Ghana Project, was an initiative supported by Global Affairs Canada (GAC), aiming to support the capacity and activities of local WROs and movements to empower women and girls, advance protection of their rights, and achieve gender equality in Ghana.
She said as a humanitarian organisation, Plan International, worked for a just world that advanced children’s rights and equality for girls with a focus on gender transformative programming, hence the launching of its new five-year global strategy.
“Our ambition from now to 2027 is to see all girls standing strong creating global change, working together, to create a world where all girls know and exercise their rights to living the life they choose, and a network of supporters, communities, staff, partners, and donors, all supporting girls and young women to stand strong as they learn, lead, decide, and thrive.”
Mrs Essel said it was not only important to meet those needs, but also to support interventions and strategies that built women’s resilience and empower them to create just and equal societies and institutions.
She said women and girls were faced with a myriad of challenges, including the burden of unpaid care work to access and control productive resources and sexual and gender-based violence.
“As our interventions shift rightly to those that build resilience through the provision of assets, skills, jobs, dignity, and protection, if we do not take special measures to target and include women in resilience and stabilisation efforts, women are at risk of being further left behind.”
She said, “as we deliberate and develop a common feminist advocacy agenda and action plans, we must always remember that success is not just in whether needs are met, but also whether through meeting those needs we have also empowered those we are serving and worked to ensure greater equality between men and women.”
Mrs Patricia Blankson Akakpo, NET RIGHT, said the workshop was to develop a common advocacy agenda and action plans to address women’s rights issues in Ghana and ensure increased and continuous enjoyment of human rights by women and girls.
She said it would also facilitate how the advocacy platforms would strengthen or build relationships and influence policymakers, generate and present evidence to influence policy, whiles remaining responsive to national context and current government strategies, as well as target innovation for change.
Madam Melody Darkey, WiLDAF, said the thematic areas for consideration for the workshop include the Land Act, 2020 (Act 1036) sensitisation, financing, women’s rights work and gender-responsive budgeting, climate change and food security, and sustainable SMEs with a focus on female entrepreneurship.
The rest are women’s mental health, leadership, mentoring and coaching, affirmative action bills and high insecurity in the region.
WVL-Ghana is a five-year initiative that is being carried out by Plan International Ghana, Plan International Canada, NET RIGHT and WiLDAF with the outcome expected to increase the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls and the advancement of gender equality.
WVL-Ghana aims to improve the management, sustainability, performance, and innovation of local WROs.
It is also to enhance the delivery of quality services and advocacy by WROs to advance gender quality and enhance collaboration, collective action and innovation of local WROs.
The project is being implemented over five years from March 2019 to March 2024. A total of 98 local, regional, and national WROs and networks are expected to be reached, with a focus on long-term gender transformative programming in six regions – Greater Accra, Central, Northern, Upper East, Bono, and Bono East, with flexible grants and advocacy.
GNA