The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MWCA) or Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) of

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

is the government ministry responsible for the formulation of policies that promote the

institutionalization In sociology, institutionalisation (or institutionalization) is the process of embedding some conception (for example a belief, norm, social role, particular value or mode of behavior) within an organization, social system, or society as a who ...

and development of women and children issues.

History

The ministry was created in 2001 by the

John Kufuor John Kofi Agyekum Kufuor (born 8 December 1938) is a Ghanaian politician who served as the President of Ghana from 7 January 2001 to 7 January 2009. He was also Chairperson of the African Union from 2007 to 2008. Kufuor's career has been sp ...

administration to address

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

and children issues.

Minister of the MWCA and MGCSP

The head of the ministry is the Minister of Women and Children's Affairs and Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection. The first head of the ministry when it was created in 2001 was

Gladys Asmah Gladys Asmah (16 October 193924 June 2014) was a Ghanaian politician and Entrepreneur. She was a former Minister of Fisheries as well as a member of parliament for the Takoradi Constituency. She was also the former Minister for Women's Affa ...

and first head of the ministry when it was renamed MGCSP in February 2013 is

Nana Oye Lithur Nana Oye Lithur is a Ghanaian barrister and politician. She was the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection in Ghana from 2013 to 2017, appointed by President John Mahama after the Ghanaian general election. She is a member of th ...

Aims and objectives of the ministry

The ministry has among its objectives the formulation of gender and children policies and guidelines, propose programmes that promote women and children affairs and the development of institutions that encourage women empowerment.

Advocacy

The ministry's role makes it advocate for better treatment for women and children. Issues of concern that come to the fore are handled by the ministry. One of such issues was the 2011 when the ministry announced it would in collaboration with the Ghana Department of Social Welfare undertake a re-registration of

orphanages An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abu ...

in the country. This was due to media publications of poor management of certain

Orphanage An orphanage is a Residential education, residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the Childcare, care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parent ...

s in the country. The publications reported that the orphanages were being used as transit points for

child trafficking Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...

and had become places of abuse for inmates.

Awards

The ministry in 2011 celebrated

International Women's Day International Women's Day (IWD) is a global holiday celebrated annually on March 8 as a focal point in the women's rights movement, bringing attention to issues such as gender equality, reproductive rights, and violence and abuse against wom ...

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

. During the celebration, the maiden Ghana Women of Excellence Awards was held at the

Accra International Conference Centre The Accra International Conference Centre is an events venue in Accra, Ghana. Other venues include the Ghana Trade Fair Center and the National Theatre, but the Conference Centre is the most popular due to its size and capacity as compared to th ...

. The awards day was themed ‘Empowering the Ghanaian Woman for National Development’. 34 Ghanaian women were honoured at the ceremony for their contribution to national development.

Achievements

The ministry from 2001 has worked on several issues of concern to both women and children. They include: *Abolishing the

trafficking of children Trafficking of children is a form of human trafficking and is defined by the United Nations as the "recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, and/or receipt" kidnapping of a child for the purpose of slavery, forced labour and exploitation. ...

*Increasing the number of women in major government sectors *Educating women about

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

*Improvement in

legislation

References

{{authority control Women in Ghana Women and Children's Affairs 2001 establishments in Ghana Ghana, Women and Children's Affairs

Women's rights in Ghana