The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection and its donor partners have taken their mandate of promoting gender equality to the next level as they plan to engage men and boys on gender equality.
To this end, the ministry has developed a national framework and toolkit for engaging men and boys on gender equality.
In view of this, the Ministry and the Department of Gender, with the support of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Thursday organised a training of trainers’ workshop in Accra to train key stakeholders on how to implement the framework and toolkit.
Addressing the participants at the workshop, the Deputy Country Representative of the UNFPA, Ghana, Dr Emily Sandra Naphambo, stressed the need to engage men and boys on gender equality.
“Engaging men and boys is important because it challenges harmful norms, breaks cycles of violence, promotes positive masculinities, role models and allies, influences decision-making, and ensures a comprehensive understanding of gender-relations,” she asserted.
She also said the framework and toolkit is developed to provide a uniform guide for engaging men and boys on gender equality.
On her part, the Director of the Gender Department, Madam Faustina Acheampong, said the workshop sought to equip the stakeholders with the necessary skills and knowledge to make them effective in promoting gender equality.
She said when men and boys are involved in gender issues, much will be achieved as far as promoting gender equality is concerned.
She expressed gratitude to the UNFPA for supporting the Department and the Ministry in diverse ways, including the development of the national framework and toolkit and admonished the participants to take the training seriously.
Bala Ali, ISD