The United Nations (UN) International Women’s Day (IWD) 2018 has been launched in Accra.

The global theme for the commemoration is “Women Too: Press on to Progress as Game Changers”while the national theme is “Time is now: Rural and Urban activists Transforming Women’s lives”.

IWD is aimed towards awareness creation on gender equality, through a series of activities, and the need to refocus attention on institutional and socio-cultural barriers that prevent women from enjoying adequate standard of living.

The launch was a count down to two critical landmark days of the year–March 6 and the celebration of IWD on the 8th March, 2018.

Speaking at the event, the Gender Minister, Madam Otiko Afisa Djaba, described the launch as commemoration of the enormous and incalculable contributions of women to the achievement of better livelihoods for humanity.

Madam Djaba noted that IWD had a unique relevance and resonance with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and all women in Ghana.

IWD, she said, was another special day which allowed society reflect on how women were nurtured and their potential for national development.

She underscored the importance of Women’s movement against harassment, especially in the workplace, in many parts of the world today, adding that similar movements were challenging the unequal status of women in countries in Western Europe, Latin America, Africa, and even the ultra-conservative countries of the Middle East.

The Gender Minister noted that significant and tremendous progress had been made in the fight against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), while expressing her belief in a glorious future for women in Ghana as the country celebrated its 61st Independence Anniversary.