President John Dramani Mahama has called on African leaders to renew their commitment to women’s empowerment as global instability threatens to erode decades of progress made since the 1995 Beijing Declaration on gender equality.
Speaking in Beijing, China, at the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping and UN Women, President Mahama warned that growing uncertainty in the global order could roll back the social and economic advancements achieved for women in Africa.
“The global order is changing rapidly, threatening to reverse the gains made under the Millennium Development Goals and the ongoing Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.
“The global multilateral order and our rules-based trading systems are being jettisoned, giving way to more unilateral actions by some global players. In this unpredictable environment, we need to focus on safeguarding the gains made by our women and other vulnerable groups since the Beijing conference thirty years ago.”
President Mahama stressed that African women remain particularly vulnerable amid these shifts, urging his peers on the continent to keep women’s welfare and empowerment at the heart of development planning.
“The African woman is particularly vulnerable, and I wish to use this platform to call on my colleague African leaders to focus on the welfare and empowerment of our women,” he said.
“Gender equality is more than a matter of justice; it is a catalyst for sustainable development. When women succeed, families thrive, communities become stronger, and nations progress.”
Drawing on Ghana’s experience, President Mahama noted that investing in women yields measurable results in productivity, innovation, and social cohesion.
“Our experience in Ghana demonstrates that investing in women produces tangible benefits in productivity, innovation, and social cohesion,” he affirmed.
The event brought together world leaders and global advocates to mark thirty years since the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which remains a guiding framework for achieving gender equality worldwide.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh
