Starr Woman Dream Edition observes International Women's Day

As the world marks International Women's Day also known as the United Nations (UN) Day for Women’s Right and International Peace to celebrate women’s achievement throughout history and across nations, the Starr Woman Dream Edition Project wishes to direct government and stake actors’ attention to marginalized groupings such as women entrepreneurs with disability.

Lifting women in all settings, abled and differently abled is a pressing development need captured in the UN Sustainable development goals.

Ghana’s Constitution makes provision for all citizens of the country, irrespective of their race, place of origin, political opinion, color, religion, creed or gender to access their fundamental human rights.

Section 29 covers the rights of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and subsection (7) promotes special incentives for PWDs to engage in business. PWD ACT 715 also enjoins government to grant special incentives to persons with disability engaged in business including vocational training.

These are a few of numerous legal provisions guaranteeing the well- being of Persons with Disability (PWDs) and by extension women.

The Starr Woman Dream Edition Project’s research and work experience reveal deep cracks of inequalities threatening the livelihoods and well-being of women with disabilities especially in rural Ghana.

We strongly identify with the UN’s theme for 2018: ‘TIME IS NOW: RURAL AND URBAN ACTIVISTS TRANSFORMING WOMEN’S LIVES', a vision the Starr Woman Dream Edition Project is currently pursuing passionately in parts of the Northern Region to project the lives of rural and urban women entrepreneurs with disabilities, promote their access to equal opportunities and rights that enables them to realize their entrepreneurial aspirations as business captains.

The Starr Woman Dream Edition Project is funded by a Star Ghana grant to drive advocacy on women entrepreneurs with special needs, mainstream their issues to accelerate their participation in the economic spheres of the country.

As Ghana marks this special day under the theme, ‘’Women Too-Press to Progress as Game Changers’’, it’s an appropriate time to also urge government and citizens to continue to press harder for equitable and inclusive development.

Every effort to promote entrepreneurship, be it state or private sector-led should not leave women entrepreneurs with disabilities behind if we mean business with eradicating poverty and women empowerment across board.

The resilience of these women with special needs in defying existing difficulties reflect the vast untapped potential they possess and their little efforts need to be supported for the incremental impact we all desire to see. It is time to switch from the charity approach to the new cool – empowering these women to conquer territories.

The first giant step is for the state to fully enforce provisions of PWD ACT 715 to protect and empower Persons with Disability especially women entrepreneurs.

The Starr Woman Dream Edition Project is a social responsibility program spearheaded by Starr 103.5 FM together with its sister stations under the EIB Network.