Gender advocates begin activism to mark Women’s Day

The Billion Emerging Women Crusaders (BEWCROSS) on Wednesday launched a gender activism to begin the commemoration of 2015 International Women’s Day slated for March 8.

The activism is also to mark the 20th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, which served as a significant turning point in the global agenda for gender equality.

Mrs Hujoysse Jenkins, BEWCROSS President who launched the Ghana Gender Activism, appealed to the media to devote airspace and time on Monday, March 9 to project the achievements of women.

Other activities include general discussion on the status of gender equality, identifying goals attained, achievements, gaps and challenges in relation to implementation of key commitments.

She also urged the media to focus on one priority theme, based on the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action; hold a high-level panel debate to exchange experiences, lessons learned and good practices on the priority theme.

Mrs Jenkins said other gender advocates would organise events to evaluate progress in implementing and interactive panel discussions on steps and initiatives to accelerate implementation, and measures to build capacities for mainstreaming gender equality across policies and programmes.

The Beijing Declaration and the Platform for Action, adopted unanimously by 189 countries in 1995, is a visionary blueprint for gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Mrs Jenkins explained that 20 years on, the Beijing promise was only partially fulfilled, therefore the anniversary provided new opportunities to galvanize political will, reconnect and mobilize the public.

She therefore called on governmental and non-governmental organisations, charities, educational institutions, women's groups, corporations and the media to join in the celebration.

Mrs Jenkins expressed concern about the quality of leaders in the society was a reflection of the consciousness of the collective society.

“The major problem of Africa is not the development of ideas but rather the implementation. Africa does not lack ideas, Africa lacks manifestations of ideas.

“Our main concerns are the issue of the stereotypical and degrading depiction of women on media mainly television, which includes the film industry, the print media and abject projections of pornography and the marginalization of women,” she said.

She complained that, the media had not helped that much in portraying the African woman as one who is capable of occupying respectable positions in society rather the woman has been advertised mostly as a symbol of sex.

She called on government to act by instituting the proper legislation to restore sanity.

She added that, it was disheartening how the woman, for the sole reason of her gender, had been excluded, systematically blocked from social and political processes which are basic to integration within the society.

Mrs Jenkins said marginalization of women had consequently inhibited their ability to enjoy equal opportunities and privileges available to men.

The Ghana Gender Activism launch was attended by ABANTU for Development, Foreigners Right Protection Organisation and other gender based NGOs.