Madam Theresa Baveng, Project Coordinator, Women Economic Empowerment for Collective Transformation (WEACT) of OXFAM Ghana, has called on the government to adopt the gender family model to liberate women from economic inequalities and increase opportunities. She said the WEACT project was aimed to contribute to enhancing economic empowerment, well-being, and inclusive economic growth for women in the shea and cocoa value chains. Madam Baveng was speaking at a programme at Sorbelle with stakeholders from Jawia and Sorbelle under the theme: DigitAll: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality.’ She said: ‘Research in Ghana has established that unfair treatment and inequalities have constantly put women behind men denying our girls, and mothers’ investment and growth, to the extent that there is evidence the richest man will earn more in one month his wealth than the poorest woman will earn in one thousand years.’ ‘This stark evidence shows deep-rooted gender inequalities and could be reversed by empowering women,’ she added. Madam Baveng said women deserved a better place in society to transform their lives and build a society that works for everyone, which was why OXFAM had prioritised gender justice and social inclusion at workplaces. She urged stakeholders in the district to play their part and that her organisation was ready to facilitate and support the stakeholders towards women`s economic empowerment. Madam Baveng called on the government and the traditional authorities to help break the cultural barriers to the transformational agenda thereby calling for the family gender model. She encouraged women to stand strong and said with the right tools and opportunities they could maximise their values. She encouraged the private sector to support the women with finance to enable them to improve their economic activities, which was why the WEACT project had come to work with women to better their lot. Mr Nuhu Ahmed Tijani, the Sissala West District Planning Officer, underscored the major roles played by women and that the Assembly had supported several women with income-generating activities such as soap making and continues to support women’s activities to empower them. Madam Ubaidatu Iddrisu, Project Manager of Shea Network Ghana, praised Oxfam for the partnership and highlighted the role of innovative technology in promoting gender and economic rights where a toll-free number had been set up for unhindered access to information. Madam Sumani Nasiratu from Jawia said since being trained by Oxfam she had now organised her businesses and taken good care of her family through the soap-making she learned. Madam Asiedu Asana from Sorbelle said Oxfam and Shea network taught them how to organise group meetings and ‘trained us on many skills we are using to help our children and families.’ The programme was organized by Shea Network Ghana with support from Oxfam and is being implemented across nine Districts in the Upper West, Upper East, Northern, Savanna Western North, and Western Regions. There was a drama display to showcase the challenges women went through in providing for the family.
Source: Ghana News Agency
