A women's rights activist has condemned advertisements, songs and African movies that portray women negatively and dehumanise or lower their status. Madam Hamida Harrison said such practices violated the rights of women and urged identifiable women groups to initiate comprehensive measures to reverse the trend. The women's right activist, who is also the Senior Programmes Officer of Abantu for Development, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), was speaking at a forum for women in the Northern sector of the country, in Kumasi on Thursday. The event was organised by the Centre for the Development of People in collaboration with NetRight, both NGOs. Madam Harrison noted that women played crucial roles in national development and called on society to respect them and protect their rights. She said despite the enactment of statutes to advance the cause of women in the country, some people continued to marginalize them. Madam Harrison expressed worry that out of the 230 members of parliament in the country, only 25 of them were females. She also noted that women constituted the minority on major decision-making bodies in the country. The women's right activist said the under-representation of women on these bodies had created the situation whereby women issues received less attention to the detriment of their development. Madam Selina Owusu, the Programmes Officer of NetRight, called for the abolition of obsolete cultural practices that impeded the development of women. Source: GNA