Steve Kakrabah-Quarshie, Acting Editor of The Catholic Standard sent a questionnaire to Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin of the Abantu for Development. Below are the questions and answers.
Catholic Standard: Madam, your organization ABANTU for Development has been in the forefront for women’s development in Ghana. What have you achieved so far in this direction over the years?
Answer: The organization was set up in 1995 but the office in Accra which is the Regional Office for West Africa, was established in 1999. This means that we have been in existence in Ghana for the past 17 years. During the period, we have brought the issue of women’s rights and gender equality to the doorstep of policy makers in Ghana particularly on governance, poverty, peace building and climate change issues.
We have developed relevant tools and methodologies for incorporating gender perspectives into policies, programmes and projects at all levels and sectors.
We have also contributed to strengthening the women’s movement in Ghana through our coalition building efforts with the Women’s Manifesto Coalition (WMC), the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) and the Domestic Violence Coalition (DVC).
We are also the main women’s rights organization in Ghana that specifically works on gender and climate change. This work has enabled us to host the Ghana Action on Climate change for Equality and Sustainability (GACCES).
We also have active empowerment platforms with women in the district assemblies as well as with young women leaders in second cycle and tertiary institutions. We are currently in the process of establishing a platform with young men as well.
Catholic Standard: It is believed that women are their own enemies, hence the difficulties in getting them to appreciate their roles in society since they might not want to see other women in the limelight. What would you say to that?
Answer: That is an outmoded statement. Actually I do not think anyone should ever say that about women because it is a false statement. Women work and support each other all the time.
There is no way women could have achieved the remarkable success on their rights if they did not work together or were not supportive of each other. The struggle for gender equality is for the whole society to change how we perceive and deal with women. This means everyone should be interested and involved.
A society where women have equal rights with their male counterparts delivers more on development and democratic governance. Disagreements and conflicts are part of the human condition.
Thus whether one is a woman or a man, at one point or the other there will be some tensions in relationships, behaviours and attitudes. That does not however mean that enmity is the domain of women only or men only. We need to highlight and be more supportive of the positive things women do for each other.
Catholic Standard: Since the introduction of the District Assembly concept, some foreign organizations, especially the Fredrick Ebert Foundation has been trying to help women to be elected into the Assemblies, but the response has quite been disappointing as only a few women show interest in the exercise. What advice do you have for women?
Answer: Actually, women are always willing to be part of the decision-making process at the district level. The issues there are very close to their needs and concerns. Over the years they have actively participated in several training and capacity building programmes organised by ABANTU, the Institute for Local Government Studies (ILGS) and the National Association of Local Government Authorities (NALAG).
For example, since 2003, ABANTU has been organizing “Biennial Conferences on Women in Ghana’s District Assemblies” to highlight the importance of women’s representation and participation in the district assemblies.
However participation and representation is still low due to the many challenges women face when they attempt to go through elections of any kind for positions. These include lack of family and societal support, lack of finances and tensions with traditional household responsibilities.
What is needed is for relevant policies such as affirmative action through quotas to be put in place to enable women’s representation to increase to enhance their voices on issues.
Catholic Standard: What is the relationship between ABANTU for Development and the many women’s organisations all over the world for the total emancipation of women?
Answer: ABANTU works in collaboration with women’s rights organisations across the world. They include international, regional and national organisations. We have different experiences based on where we are coming from and so we need to need to learn and share from each other. We are always ready to work with others who believe in women’s rights as fundamental to the realisation of human rights and democratic governance.
Catholic Standard: What has the Women’s Manifesto which had been in existence for sometime now achieved for Ghanaian women?
Answer: The Women’s Manifesto for Ghana was launched in the year 2004. The document contains 10 critical areas of concern to women and makes demands for addressing them. The document was produced as a political statement from women of Ghana.
Due to the extensive nature of the consultative processes applied for its production and wider dissemination, Ghanaian women at all levels have developed a sense of ownership for the document.
The Women’s Manifesto Coalition (WMC) which is hosted by ABANTU to coordinate the implementation of the Manifesto, is still active and continues to advocate for the implementation of the demands contained in the document.
To date, over 12,000 copies of the document have been produced and distributed. Many tertiary institutions use it to enhance learning on gender issues and the women’s movement in Ghana.
The Document has also been translated into four (4) local languages: Ewe, Akan, Ga, and Dagbani. At the Africa Regional and International levels, the document is highly recommended as a model tool for advocating on women’s rights.
Finally, the Document has received International Awards from the Commonwealth Foundation and the Association for Women in Development (AWID).
In spite of the many successes, much more needs to be done for all the demands contained in the Manifesto to be addressed to promote women’s rights and gender equality in Ghana.
Catholic Standard: How relevant had the Beijing Conference on women been to women in the past two decades?
Answer: The Beijing Conference was held in 1995. Since then the discourse on women’s rights and gender equality has been amplified especially due to the different roles that institutions and constituencies have played in putting the issues in the public domain. It has become a reference point for those who support women and others who do not.
For women and other who support women, it has been the source of a lot of advocacy on women’s rights and gender equality; others joke about it either to trivialise the issues or for resistance purposes. Many of the positive laws and policies in favour of women and gender equality are as a result of the issues contained in the Platform for Action (PfA) which was the outcome document from the Beijing Conference.
Catholic Standard: How have Ghanaian women benefited from the Conference’s outcome?
Answer: Ghanaian women actively participated in the Beijing conference. So far the experience gained has been shared at all levels so there is a lot of consciousness about the relevance of women’s rights and gender equality issues.
There is however a lot more to be done on the policy front with regard to how the national machinery on women, (now the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP)) can be strengthened and supported to deliver on commitments made at the international level.
Catholic Standard: Teenage pregnancy, forced marriage and Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are three major problems facing young Ghanaian girls; What is your Organization doing to curb these “social evils”?
Answer: As an organization we do not work directly on those issues. We believe that there are very effective organisations and institutions on the ground that are working well on those issues. However through our policy advocacy work, we indirectly touch on those issues.
We also want to believe that our empowerment programmes at all levels transform minds in ways that make us value the positive elements of our traditions and practices while dealing with those that undermine women’s well-being.
Catholic Standard: The number of girls enrolling in Schools is still lower than boys, what do you suggest?
Answer: I think we have come far on that issue as a country. Through the Ministry of Education, there have been relevant policies and programmes to ensure that both girls and boys have equal chances and access to education. So we see many more girls in schools these days. But several others are not and there is still a gap.
I think enrollment is not so much of a problem as retention due to all kinds of challenges girls face which arise from societal expectations about what a girl should be doing or not doing, and their life cycles especially their reproductive functions.
We need to have a huge national budget on education to ensure that even when girls drop out of school, especially those from deprived homes, can still go back to school.
We also need a lot of sensitization on sexual and reproductive health rights for both boys and girls. At the end of the day, change in patriarchal social relations, and active male involvement in the socialisation of boys and girls is critical.
Catholic Standard: In your opinions or assessment, what are the obstacles hindering equality between men and women which the women have been fighting for over the centuries?
Answer: I think the fight is for all of us even though women have been at the forefront. The problem is systemic. It is how society has been defined. It is also supported by various religions, traditions and how society is organized generally. This means that we need to have a long term view of how to address inequalities.
Catholic Standard: What general advice do you have for the full development, participation in national affairs, equality and total respect for Ghanaian women?
Answer: There is a need to make the work on gender equality a central issue for national development. The needed policies must be in place and the national machinery on women must be strengthened. Civil society groups must also prioritise women’s rights and gender issues.
At the personal, household and community levels, we should all learn about women’s rights and gender issues and translate them into our relationships, behaviours, attitudes and practices.
