Developing Women for Mobilisation (DWM), has called on all Ghanaians who believe in women’s empowerment and the rights of women and children to contribute to their growth and development.
According to the DWM, formerly known as the 31st December Women’s Movement, women are the custodians of the life of the society while children are the keepers of the future, hence it is the responsibility of every Ghanaian to take an active stance against practices that disempower women and children.
The General Secretary of the DWM, Mrs Sylvia Ahorlu, said this in an interview with the Daily Graphic in Accra last Tuesday.
Passion for activism
“As our organisation embarks on its advocacy role, we have not shed our passion for activism. Our newly adopted green berets symbolise our growth and transition and renewal. It symbolises our nurturing and dependable nature while still maintaining our courage as women to stand up against injustice, discrimination and abuse of both women and children,” Mrs Ahorlu stated.
According to her, the Ghanaian society is haunted by numerous cases of child abuse, trafficking of women and girl-child, and child slavery.
“We stand strongly against these practices and our mission as one of Ghana’s most influential women’s empowerment groups is to energise the fight against such atrocities through our legislature, through the judiciary, the police service and the media,” she indicated.
She further pointed out that it was the aim of the DWM to partner international and local organisations to fight against those inhumane practices.
She said DWM had shifted its focus from mass mobilisation to advocacy for women and children and it was currently expanding its early childhood development centres in Accra with the aim to ensure that childhood development centres reflected the needs and aspirations of their communities.
Community-driven projects
The DWM, Mrs Ahorlu indicated, was also on the verge of launching dynamic community-driven projects involving collaborations with international organisations, consulting for state institutions on gender-related issues and advocacy training in women’s empowerment, to name but a few, all of which would be announced in due course.
She indicated that the DWM had worked tirelessly since 1983 to empower women of Ghana through various activities, with the objective to empower women politically, as well as become the driving force behind the endorsement of competent female candidates to run for Parliament.
The members of DWM are in the civil service, banking sector, entrepreneurs, in Armed Forces and other male-dominated sectors. In spite of this, women continue to face discrimination here in Ghana, she stated.
“We strongly believe that a paradigm shift in society where women's empowerment is ingrained in all of society is yet to occur and we are determined to stay at the forefront of that wave for our complete empowerment,” she stressed.
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