Ghana will develop if women's rights are respected

Ghana could succeed on its developmental path if the rights of women who constitute the greater majority of the population are respected, Professor Miranda Greenstreet, Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Gender Development Institute said on Thursday.

She said there was the need for every Ghanaian, both man and woman, to recognise each other as an equal partner in the developmental process of the nation.

"The greater majority of the population is made up of women whose rights, instead of being respected and appreciated, have rather been trodden upon over the years".

Prof Greenstreet, a former Director of the Institute of Adult Education, University of Ghana, was speaking at an end-of-year luncheon the Institute organised in Accra.

She said: "If we are going to do away with the ability and resourcefulness of more than half of the humanity endowed to our nation, then our development is going to slow down.

"We need to consider each other, both men and women as partners, and as partners, each other's rights have to be respected, because women's rights are equally human rights.

"This means as partners, we should not be jealous of each other, when we are not jealous of each other the family benefits and society at large also benefits," she said.

Mrs Angela Dwamena-Aboagye, Executive Director of The Ark Foundation of Ghana, said society had to start dismantling the system that encouraged men's dominance.

"We are both born men and women, why then do we have to create a system that favours men to dominate in all areas?''

Mrs Dwamena-Aboagye said all over the world, where women had been recognised as equal partners, the rate of development was faster.

Mr Wilbert Tengey, Chief Executive of the Institute said as from next year it would concentrate its activities on 'gender and the youth'.

The focus would be on both senior and junior secondary schools.