Ghana committed to gender equality and women’s empowerment – Mahama tells leaders at Beijing summit

President John Dramani Mahama has reaffirmed Ghana’s strong commitment to gender equality and the empowerment of women, saying that the country will continue to take deliberate steps to ensure women have equal opportunities in all sectors of national life.

Addressing the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women in Beijing, China, on Monday, October 13, which was attended by President Xi Jinping of China and other heads of state, President Mahama said the gathering offered an important opportunity to renew global efforts toward advancing the rights of women and girls.

“This meeting presents an invaluable opportunity to reaffirm our shared commitment to advancing the rights of women and girls worldwide and to assess the progress that we’ve made under the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,” he said.

Reflecting on the 30 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration, President Mahama described it as “a moral covenant”, noting that no country could truly develop while leaving half of its population behind.

He, however, acknowledged that structural barriers still limit women’s progress and called for “greater resolve and innovation” to achieve lasting equality.

President Mahama reaffirmed that Ghana remains “steadfast in its pursuit of gender equality and the empowerment of women.”

He said under his leadership and as the African Union Champion for Gender and Women’s Empowerment, the government had taken bold steps to integrate gender equality into national development policies.

He highlighted several milestones, including the election of Ghana’s first female Vice President and the appointment of women to senior roles in government, the judiciary, the security services, and key national institutions.

“These are not symbolic gestures; they are a deliberate affirmation that women deserve a seat at the highest levels of decision-making,” he said, adding that he was confident that “in the very near future, our women will break the glass ceiling and that a woman will be president of the Republic of Ghana.”

President Mahama also spoke about Ghana’s achievements in education, stating that the country had attained gender parity in school enrolment, with more girls staying in school.

He said this progress had been supported by strong institutional reforms and laws to protect women and girls.

According to him, critical agencies such as the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU); the Domestic Violence Secretariat; and the Specialised Domestic Violence Courts had been strengthened through increased funding to ensure justice and support for survivors of gender-based violence.

He further outlined several social protection programmes that directly benefit women and girls, including the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) initiative, which prioritises female-headed households; the Ghana School Feeding Programme, which sources food locally and helps retain girls in school; a policy that reserves 50% of microfinance and small loan funding for women entrepreneurs; the nationwide distribution of free sanitary pads for schoolgirls to promote menstrual health and reduce absenteeism; free tertiary education for persons with disabilities, especially women; the No Academic Fee Policy for first-year tertiary students; and the upcoming Ghana Medical Care Trust Fund, designed to ensure equitable access to treatment for non-communicable diseases.

He noted that these interventions are anchored in a strong legal and policy framework, supported by instruments such as the Revised National Gender Policy (2025–2034), the Ghana National Social Protection Act, the Domestic Violence Act (2007), the Human Trafficking Act (2005), and the Justice for Children Policy.

President Mahama also highlighted the passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), which mandates a minimum of 30% female representation in public appointments by 2026, increasing to 35% by 2028 and 50% by 2030.

He announced plans to establish a Women’s Development Bank to provide low-interest loans, financial literacy, and business training for women entrepreneurs, aimed at promoting financial inclusion and creating more opportunities for women across all sectors of the economy.

Turning to global challenges, President Mahama cautioned that the rapidly changing world order could undermine progress made under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“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.”

“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 added.

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