Thirteen distinguished local and international personalities have been honoured – in recognition of their roles in the promotion of gender justice– at a Presidential Gala Dinner Awards Night in Accra on July 5, 2018.
The Awardees included Melanie Thaddae Kasise, Dr. Elsie Kaufmann, Ms Claudia Lumor, Prof. Naana Jane Opoku and Dr Nelson Aluya of USA.
The others were Sir Girmay Haile, Pan Africanist and Gender Equality Campaigner, HRH Togbe Afede XIV and His Excellency Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana.
The rest were Her Excellency the First Lady of the Bahamas, Patricia Minnis, Her Excellency the First Lady of Sierra-leone, Fatima Jabbe- Bio, Dr. Debbie Bartlett of the CEO Network, Bahamas, Princess Eliane Hansen of Angola and Bishop Dr. Melody Makure of Zimbabwe.
Welcoming participants to the ceremony, H.E. Rev Dr Gifty Lamptey, Ambassador for Women’s Empowerment in Africa said the objective of the Awards was to recognize the contributions of women and men who had contributed immensely to the empowerment of women in Africa.
Dr Lamptey said women should move to higher heights and be part of efforts to move Africa’s development forward and urged women leaders to mentor the younger ones as part of the empowerment agenda.
She stressed the need to continue to be the voice of the girl-child in order for them to grow up to assume leadership positions in society and be able to make the right impact on society.
In an address delivered on her behalf, Ms Otiko Afisah Djaba, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, noted that the empowerment of women should start with education and improved access to reproductive care as well as access to financial resources.
Ms Djaba said the right to create wealth by engaging in the right economic activity would led to prosperity for family and communities.
Government, she said, was, therefore, working to mitigate gender-based discriminations and to end the exploitations that inhibited women from reaching their potentials.
She said Government was in the process of reviewing laws and social norms that inhibited women’s productivity and development.
Ms Djaba said education held the key to ending forced and early marriages and to promoting sexual health and that Government was committed to efforts at improving access to primary and secondary education.
In a statement, Ms Jones-Mensah, lauded the remarkable contributions of HRM Togbe Afede XIV for his support for girls’ education and US-based Dr Nelson Aluya and Sir Girmay Haile for their work in addressing healthcare education specific to women.
The Awards were preceded by the Global Women Economic and Social Empowerment Summit (GWESES) which opened on July 4, 2018.
The two-day Summit, which aimed to showcase the extraordinary achievements and capabilities of women, was on the theme: Building and investing in our capacity to grow.