The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) has reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening collaboration with Ghana in advancing gender equality and intensifying efforts to end violence against women and girls.
The Regional Director of UN Women, Dr Maxine Houinato, led a delegation to the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to engage in high-level discussions on priority areas of cooperation aimed at strengthening protection systems and expanding opportunities for women and girls.
The courtesy call was on the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, and focused on accelerating progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), which seeks to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Dr Houinato outlined ongoing preparations for a high-level regional forum ahead of 2030 and announced Ghana’s selection as one of the beneficiary countries under a new UN Women-supported initiative targeting the prevention of violence against women and girls through community engagement and the transformation of harmful social norms.
She emphasised the importance of working closely with traditional authorities, religious leaders and community structures to address entrenched practices that undermine the rights and safety of women and girls.
The delegation reaffirmed UN Women’s long-standing partnership with Ghana and its commitment to supporting programmes that strengthen institutional capacity and promote inclusive development.
In response, the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection welcomed the partnership and reiterated government’s commitment to strengthening both legal and policy frameworks to address violence against women and girls.
Hon. Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey disclosed that Cabinet has approved a revised Domestic Violence Policy and that government is pursuing amendments to the Domestic Violence Act to expand its scope and improve responsiveness to emerging forms of abuse.
She further highlighted the implementation of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024, which seeks to increase women’s participation in leadership and decision-making positions across public and private sectors.
The Minister stressed that sustained public education and institutional compliance would be critical to achieving the objectives of the law, particularly in shifting attitudes and improving enforcement.
She also raised concerns about online and technology-facilitated violence, noting that gaps in digital literacy and business skills among women remain a challenge to full participation in the digital economy.
According to her, ensuring safe digital spaces is essential to enabling women and girls to fully contribute to national development and benefit from emerging economic opportunities.
Both UN Women and the Ministry reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening cooperation in advancing the rights, protection and empowerment of women and girls in Ghana.
