5. Gender Equality

Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.

Discussions on this goal took us to all six (6) regions; Ashanti, Central, Easter, Greater Accra, Volta and Western.
Our discussions were very interesting as some of the institutions we dealt with were single sex schools while others were mixed schools. We employed our standard practice of soliciting answers from the students;

1. Is there a cause to believe that we have issues with gender in Ghana?
   
2. What they individually and collectively believed is the cause of gender biases?
   
3. Are gender issues a security threat to the stability of a people?
   
4. Should children, young people and women have a say in gender issues?
   
5. What roles can children, young people and women play in achieving the above goal?
   
6. Their solutions under the microscope.
   
7. Did they know of the existence of the UN Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality?
   

Our findings;

1. There are many causes that lead to the fact that there are issues with gender in Ghana. Notably among the causes are;
   a) Patronizing attitudes
   b) Cultural practices
   c) Discrimination and segregation in the formal and informal sectors
   d) The role of women in many of such situations.
   
2. Negative gender issues pose serious security threat to every aspect of a people.
   
3. Children, young people and women have much to say and took the opportunity to call for affirmative action on gender issues. Personal life experience from many of the children and young people at the workshops drew tears not only from the one narrating the ordeal but those listening as well.
   
4. The personal life experiences narrated showed the intelligence, fortitude, endurance, mental and physical strength as well as the humane nature of children and young people who find themselves victims to such injustice.
   
5. There is the need for more education and advocacy of the children and young people which should ultimately lead to affirmative action.
   
6. Many in this category know that the UN has been advocating for gender equality and related issues but many also did not know about the UN Sustainable Development Goal on gender equality.
   
7. They are charged to put their issues subtly and strongly on film.
   

The Queen mother of Brekusu and her retinue of sub queens graced one of the workshops and electrified the atmosphere with her depth of knowledge, personal experience and audacious contributions.
Eleven (11) trainers of trainers, sixty-seven (67) teachers, thirteen (13) resource persons, thirty-nine (39) volunteers and over four
thousand four hundred (4,400) students attended the workshops.

Final Goal for 2015
Having gathered momentum after very lively and insightful workshops, the whole team moved into top gear to deliver the last set of workshops and forums.
It is pertinent to admit that the brilliance and knowledge exhibited by the students in the workshops preceding this last one raised our expectation for this last one and we were not disappointed.