Gender Ministry in dire need of resources

The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, says the Ministry needs more resources to promote gender and children issues.

She has, therefore, appealed to civil society organisations to support the Ministry in advocating for more resources.

The Minister made the appeal at the weekend in a speech read on her behalf at the opening of a three-day workshop in Dodowa, near Accra, for members of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Gender and Children.

The Minister expressed appreciation to the Select Committee for pushing the ideas and programmes of the Ministry

“Your pro-action strategies and actions are yielding fruits already because they are helping to chart the way the Ministry should advance with regard to her expanded mandate,” Lithur said.

She commended the Select Committee, saying its efforts had geared towards the empowerment and equality of women, children and the vulnerable in society.

Hajia Laadi Ayii Ayamba, Member of Parliament for Pusiga in the Upper East Region, said gender is not only about women but all sectors of the society.

She noted that focus has been on women because they and children are more vulnerable.

The Pusiga MP, who is also the Chairperson of the Select Committee on Women and Children, said some of the issues that needed to be looked at seriously include the incidence of female head potters (popularly called Kayayei in Ghana), domestic violence and the essence for affirmative action.

Hajia Ayamba called for unity of efforts in tackling gender and children issues, and the need for effective monitoring of programmes for women and children at the local and community level.

Mrs. Gifty Eugenia Kusi, Ranking Member on Gender, said the percentage of women in national high positions of responsibility is inadequate.

The workshop is being attended by civil society and non-governmental organisations as Network for Women’ Rights in Ghana, the Ark Foundation, Abantu for Development, Basic Needs and the Human Rights Advocacy Centre.

The facilitator, STAR-Ghana, is a multi-donor pooled funding mechanism, funded by DFID, DANIDA, EU and USAID to increase the influence of civil society and Parliament in the governance of public goods and service delivery, with the ultimate goal of improving the accountability and responsiveness of government, traditional authorities and the private sector.