No government has been bold enough to bring the law that will bridge gender gap - Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah

The member of Parliament for Ho-West constituency, Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzra has said that no government has been bold enough to bring a law that will bridge the gender gap in Ghana.

He was speaking to the media at a Women Consultative Dialogue forum, organised by MEG-Community Impact Foundation on the theme "Accelerating Equality and Empowerment; An interactive Dialogue With Women In Leadership" at Ho over the weekend. He further stated that its one thing the political elite are not doing well.

"One of the things that I have been thinking is this law that is supposed to come to Parliament almost a decade now but it has not come. And even though successive governments has spoken about it. They want a law that will bring gender equality to the system. Unfortunately, we all play lips services to it but no government has been bold enough to bring a law that will bridge the gender gap in our country. That is one thing the political elite are not doing well or right", Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah said.

He said the program is a good one and should be done regularly and more men should be brought to listen to the women's' part of the story. He also called on benevolent organisations to support the program to gain recognition.

Dzifa Abla Gomashie, the Member of Parliament for Ketu South constituency who was also one of the facilitators said naturally, there is a social construct within which men function and women also function.

"I think if we are more embracing of the fact that each of us, man and woman are human beings first, so each of us gets happy, each of us feels sad and each of us feels pain, we can break all the nuances and all of us will live happy together", Dzifa Gomashie said.

When asked about the effect of social media, she stated that one must know his/her cultural background before anything else.

She said that, "First of all, you come from a family, you come from a cultural background, you come from a country and you are a human being, not just an island. So whatever you are doing, whatever you see on social media or telenovelas, you have to see which one works for the area which you live in geographically, socially or culturally. You have to make that choice for yourself. And look, in life whatever you do, there are repercussions, there are consequences for your actions. Once you are proud of what your choices are, who am I to say no?"

Marian Adzroe, the managing director of Evangelical Presbyterian Church Education Unit who was also one of the facilitators said, women are their own enemy.

"Women are their own enemy. Women do not tell their stories. Women do not celebrate their colleague women. What I have come to know is that, when a woman is highly educated, she is innovative, she is creative, she is highly skilled, she is tagged disrespectful", Adzroe said.

She further called on the younger generation to be respectful and humble themselves so that the older ones can impact them with their knowledge.

Evelyn Glagozu, the founder of MEG-Community Impact Foundation said the women consultative dialogue was aimed for students in colleges and universities to help them network with possible mentors who has seen it all in the society and are in leadership positions. She further stated that the MEG-CIF women consultative dialogue has come to stay.

She sated, "MEG-Community Impact Foundation (MEG-CIF) has come to stay. It is going to be an annual program and it is targeted at SDG goal 5. Watch out for this".

MEG-Community Impact Foundation was founded in 2018 by Evelyn Glagozu. The foundation over the years has impacted over half a million youths with skills training.

They have also helped paid hospital bills, donated to the less privileged and widows.

Glagozu has called on benevolent organisations and individuals to help support the program so that it goes beyond the borders of the Volta region and also appreciated BG Petroleum Company Limited, JIK Management Consultancy, Erijem Institute and Abla Kafui Makeups for their immense support.