The COVID-19 pandemic has obviously affected several facets of life nevertheless one agenda remains resilient -the gender agenda!
Glitz Africa in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) held the 5th SHE Summit virtually on 16th July,2020 on the theme, Resilient, Empowered: Her Rights, Her World. The insightful virtual conversation gathered over 300 participants from over 40 countries listen to enlightening submissions from prominent women such as the Minister of Communications of Ghana, Honorable Ursula Owusu-Ekuful; Principal Presenter at Al Jazeera English and UN gender equality leader, Folly Bah Thibault; Chief-strategic partnerships at UNFPA HQ, Mariarosa Cutillo; Founder of Glitz Africa and UNFPA Ghana honorary ambassador ,Claudia Lumor and actress, producer and UNFPA regional ambassador, Stephanie Linus.
Making a statement at the virtual summit, the Minister of Communications condemned the surging online violence against women and girls since the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. She reminded the virtual participants that “how we meet the needs and aspirations of young women without exploiting them but rather to empower them to fully enjoy their rights will define our common future”.
Speaking passionately on son preference, Folly Thibault recounted her experience as a child where her mother was pitied simply because she gave birth to five daughters. Also, she emphasized that education continues to play a pivotal role in women empowerment. According to Folly, “issues that affect women are not just for women but for the society”.
Also at the virtual SHE Summit, Stephanie Linus explained the need for women to change negative narratives and perceptions about women. She called on women to use the enormous power they wield to train their sons to be gender advocates. Meanwhile, Mariarosa Cutillo underscored the fact that partnerships are needed to enforce legal instruments in the society which aim at stemming out harming practices against the will of women and girls.
The Country Representative of UNFPA Ghana, Niyi Ojuolape, expressed his gratitude to the speakers and participants for committing to accelerate efforts to achieve Agenda 2030 especially the Sustainable Development Goal(SDG) 5- gender equality.
The SHE Summit calls on all and sundry-man, woman, girl, boy- to join the movement to see the gender agenda materialize.
