Madame Hilary Gbedemah, former Chair of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), has reiterated her call for Parliament to pass the Affirmative Action Bill to advance the development of women.
She said that although Ghana has taken great strides in ensuring gender equality, too many women were left on the fringes in various fields of endeavor due to systemic issues and deep-rooted patriarchy.
“We are expected to be further than we are now. It is important to look at systemic issues, legal governance, educational governance and deep-rooted patriarchy.
The lawyer and women’s rights activist said this at the “Women in Motion”, film festival, which sought to inspire society, especially women, to keep shining and make their voices heard wherever they are.
Speaking with Ghana News Agency after watching the movie “When Women Speak”, Madam Gbedemah said, she could not see where was the difficulty in passing the bill and urged the media to support its passage .
She said that women should not face any kind of ill-treatment, discrimination and punishment at their work places for being married or pregnant, adding, “Pregnancy is a social act and without pregnancy, we cannot do our bit for development. How can we increase the population..? ,
Madam Gbedemah said the film had far-reaching consequences that should be used as a tool for gender studies, leadership studies, inter-generational discourse, and advancing women’s inspiration.
“When Women Speak” is a documentary shot in Ghana, and traces a group of 16 women from the 1960s to the 1990s; Woven with interviews, animations, archival footage and photographs.
It lists his life experiences in his own words as Ghana went through periods of single-party, multi-party and military governments.
Miss Asay Tamaclo, director and editor of “When Women Speak”, said the film created awareness of what has been done and where to continue.
“This is an attempt to bring back the stories of some of the Ghanaian women in history,” she said.
Miss Michelle Cloud, Regional Public Engagement Specialist, US Embassy said that the film festival was meant to highlight the issues of women empowerment and gender equality.
Collective efforts are needed through programs to address the issues of inadequate female representation and equal opportunities, he added.