Ghana remains steadfast in its pursuit of gender equality and the empowerment of women, President John Dramani Mahama, has said.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing, China, President Mahama said under his leadership and in his capacity as the African Union Champion for Gender and Women’s Empowerment, the Government of Ghana had taken decisive steps to mainstream gender across its national development policies.
“We have achieved historic milestones, including the election of Ghana’s first female Vice President and the unprecedented appointment of women to leadership positions in government, the judiciary, the security services, and key national institutions,” President Mahama stated.
“These are not symbolic gestures; they are a deliberate affirmation that women deserve a seat at the highest levels of decision-making.
“And I am confident that, in the very near future, our women will break the glass ceiling and that a woman will be president of the Republic of Ghana.”
President Mahama said Ghana had achieved gender parity in school enrollment; saying “girls are going to school and staying in school”.
He reiterated that their commitment was further demonstrated by robust institutional reforms and legal frameworks that were designed to protect the rights of women and girls.
“We have strengthened critical agencies, including the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service, the Domestic Violence Secretariat, and the Specialised Domestic Violence Courts.”
He said sustained budgetary allocations have improved their capacity to deliver justice, protection, and social support to survivors of gender-based violence.
He said the Government had also expanded many social protection programmes that directly benefit women and girls; these include the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) initiative.
He noted that as part of this initiative, they target female-headed households.
He also mentioned the Ghana School Feeding Programme, which sources food locally and improves nutrition and school retention, especially for girls.
Adding that a policy that reserves 50 per cent of the microfinance and small loan funding for women entrepreneurs.
He mentioned the nationwide distribution of free sanitary pads for schoolgirls to address their menstrual health and prevent absenteeism from school.
“Free tertiary education for persons with disability, especially women, and the No Academic Fee Policy for first-year tertiary students.”
President Mahama said the Beijing Meeting presented an invaluable opportunity to reaffirm their shared commitment to advancing the rights of women and girls worldwide and to assess the progress that they had made under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action.
He said 30 years on, the promise of Beijing still endured, but it called for renewed urgency and purpose.
The President said the Beijing Declaration was never just a statement of intent and that it was a moral covenant.
He noted that it was a recognition that no nation could truly progress if half of its population was left behind.
“Yet, as we review its implementation, persistent gaps and structural barriers continue to slow our collective march toward equality,” President Mahama said.
“We must therefore act with even greater resolve and innovation.”
On his part, Chinese President Xi Jinping, put forward four proposals to accelerate the process of women’s all-round development.
He said the proposals have been introduced to build a wider consensus, open broader pathways and take more practical actions for this cause, as women’s all-round development was still facing complex challenges.
