Peace and security cannot be achieved without the full participation and empowerment of women, who form the largest population bloc in the world, the French Ambassador to Ghana, Diarra Dime Labille, has said.
She indicated that women have been an integral part in promoting peace and security, climate development, good governance, human rights, and health as they have championed these initiatives across the world.
The French Ambassador said the pursuit for the recognition and respect of women’s rights and gender equality still required consistent commitment across all quarters, stressing that gender equality has proven to be a never-ending story.
Ms Labille was speaking at a ceremony jointly organised by the French and Canadian Embassies in Ghana to commemorate International Women’s Day at the Alliance Française in Accra recently.
The event, which brought together over 100 participants, including feminists and gender equality, also featured a panel discussion centred on the country’s progress on women’s right and gender equality.
Present at the event were Programme Officer at the Africa Women’s Development Fund, Rose Buabeng; Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo, a sociologist and feminist scholar; Prof. Takyiwaa Manuh, an academic and feminist scholar; Aseye Tamakloe, a lecturer at the National Film Institute (NAFTI), among others.
The French Ambassador indicated that since 2019, the French government has made Feminist Foreign Policy and gender equality a pivoted foreign policy agenda.
As a result, she said the French government had initiated policies including the Support Fund to Feminist Organisations (FSOF) launched in 2020, which strengthens more than 1,400 civil society organisations in 93 countries and the Laboratory for women’s rights online launched in 2024, an exchange platform and project incubator which aimed to prevent and combat gender-based violence, whether online or facilitated by technology.
Ms Labille indicated that in the face of the rise of an organised, well-funded anti-women’s right movement, it was crucial and critical that stakeholders promoting gender equality and basic human rights stayed united to pursue the gender equality agenda.
In Ghana, she said, the French Embassy had made it a priority to work with local partners to improve women’s representation in politics and access to mental health care.
Canadian support
For her part, the Canadian High Commission, Myriam Montrat, said the Canadian government has drawn a 10-year development plan to support women’s right and gender equality programmes.
Participants in the International Women’s Day
“From 2018 to 2028, Canada has mobilised about $345 million to support women’s rights organisations globally through the flagship initiative, the Women’s Voice and Leadership Programme.
“This support has helped amplify women’s voices, enabling gender transformative changes in laws, institutions, and social norms,” she said.
In Ghana, Ms Montrat said women’s rights organisations and networks that are supported by the bilateral Women’s Voice and Leadership Project were fierce advocates for the passage of the affirmative action law.
The Canadian High Commissioner added that, beyond the Canadian government’s flagship initiative, Canada also supports the establishment of the Equality Funds with $300 million, ensuring a stable funding source for feminist organisations.
“Canada equally has established the Alliance of Feminist Movements and is supporting many global initiatives to combat sexual and gender-based violence, such as the UN Trust Fund, and violence against women,” she stated.
Ms Montrat added that through the bilateral development programme in the country, an investment of $40 million annually in agriculture support, health and reproductive rights support, climate change resilience, and support to the technical and vocational training, and education with the underlying aim of advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls have been established.
Source:
www.graphic.com.gh