STATEMENT FROM THE FIRST LADY OF GHANA 2014 INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

8TH MARCH

I welcome this opportunity to join the world in celebrating the accomplishments of women in nurturing their families, shaping their communities and building nations in different ways around the world.

Today’s International Women’s Day commemoration comes just two days after we celebrated the 57th Anniversary of Ghana’s Independence. It is a most opportune time to remind all of us that ‘Equality for Women is Progress for all’. This is the time for action to end all forms of economic, cultural and social discrimination against women.

The pervasive  culture  of discrimination  and  gender-­”based violence  in  our societies continue to seriously affect the fundamental rights of women -­” rights to life, health, security, mobility, political participation and employment.

Without fundamental changes in the attitudes of individuals and the underlying ethos of social institutions, our societies cannot achieve full equality between women and men. Girl  education  is  critical  to  achieving  gender  equality  and  women’s  empowerment. Quality basic education can have a transformational effect on girls, making them drivers of lasting change in their families, communities and countries.

International Women's Day provides an opportunity for all of us to reflect on the status of women in our societies, honour the extraordinary women, whose courage and determination have shaped our lives, and re-­”dedicate ourselves to the on-­”going struggle to address the challenges facing girls and women everywhere.

I believe that the post-­”2015 development framework can act as a catalyst for progress on gender equality. To be successful however, gender equality must be mainstreamed and addressed in a specific goal.

Gender equality must be integrated into key areas such as health, education, economic empowerment and political participation.