Source: Ghana.gov
The Women's Manifesto Coalition (WMC) for Ghana has expressed satisfaction with the progress so far made in the implementation of the Women's Manifesto for Ghana (WMG) since it was launched on September 2, 2004.

According to a release issued in Accra on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of WMG, the passage of some landmark legislations such as the Domestic Violence Act, Anti-Human Trafficking Act and the Persons with Disability Act had been made possible by the Manifesto.

The statement said WMC was strengthened by the information indicating that progress was being made on the development of an Affirmative Action Law for Ghana.

The statement expressed optimism that Parliament would pass the Spousal Property Rights and the Right to Information (RTI) Bills into law.

According to the statement, notwithstanding the progress made so far, WMC was yet to see the creation of a total enabling environment relating to the nature of democratic governance that created greater space for all citizens, especially the marginalized, to equally access national resources and to participate in national processes and structures.

The statement noted that the essential elements of the right to development were rooted in the provisions of Ghana's 1992 Constitution and other International Instruments to which Ghana was a signatory.

It said national development should have the objective of constantly improving the well-being of the entire population and provide for a fair distribution of benefits as well as remedies for social justice and gender equality.

The development of the WMG is traced to a research initiated in 2003 by ABANTU Regional Office for West Africa (ABANTU-ROWA).
The initiative then led to the formation of the WMC—a permanent broad coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), individuals and other Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) that took part in the development of the document— as an institutional framework to work together to promote the wider dissemination, acceptance and use of the document.
In brief, the Women's Manifesto represents women's concerns about insufficient attention given to critical issues affecting their well-being which include the under-representation of women in politics, policy and decision-making levels, and in public life in general.
The ten-sectioned Manifesto contains a number of demands which represent the basis of women's concerns.
These demands border on Women's Economic Empowerment; Women and Land; Women, Social Policy and Development; and Women in Politics and Decision-Making.
The others are Women, Human Rights and the Law; Women and Discriminatory Cultural Practices; Women and the Media; Women, Conflict and Peace; Women with Special Needs; and Institutions with the Mandate to promote Women's Rights.
The Manifesto provides an opportunity for like-minded organisations largely from the civil society sector as well as public agencies to collaborate and build consensus on what are most important to Ghanaian women.
In February, this year, the 10th anniversary celebration of the Women's Manifesto for Ghana was launched.
The celebrations, scheduled for September, this year, is taking place under the auspices of WMC and its host organisation—ABANTU for Development.
The theme for the celebration is WMC@10: Enhancing Women's Voices In Policy Spaces.
In a keynote address at a ceremony to mark the anniversary in Accra, yesterday, the Executive Director of the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), Theo Sowa, urged the women's front not to relent in making demands for equal rights and justice.
In a statement, Prof. Dzodzi Tsikata, Head of the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, noted that what was significant about the Manifesto was its collective ownership and its wide dissemination, adding that the greatest lesson learnt was that commitment to a cause, even on a limited budget, was key to producing results.
Prof. Tsikata said the Manifesto was necessary but not significant enough to bring about the urgent reforms in gender relations.
She said there were some organizational and strategic weaknesses that need to be tackled and that the women's movement under the WMC could make more significant contributions to the present economic circumstances and political climate of Ghana.
In a solidarity message, the Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT), a founding member of WMC pledged its continued collaboration and support in pursuit of the goal of achieving gender parity in governance processes and for relevant and gender sensitive responses to issues that would promote women's rights in policies at all levels in Ghana.
For their part the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) noted that WMG had enhanced the cause of the fight for gender justice in Ghana, noting, however, that access to the justice system was yet to become more user-friendly.

• Ghana