Members of FOSDA displaying placards along the streets
Report by: Ishmael Barfi
To end Gender Based Violence (GBV), child marriage, teenage pregnancy, several key stakeholders across the breadth and length of Ghana is advocating for in the inclusion of Gender Transformative Education into the curriculum of the education system.
This according to the stakeholders will enhance the use of education as a key to fight against Gender based Violence.
Foundation for Security Development in Ghana (FOSDA), one of the lead Civil Society Organisation championing the Gender Transformative Education (GTE) explained that, this is to ensure that, the country’s education system is standardized.
Speaking to the press at its 16 days of activism launch on 1st December, 2022 in Accra, the Executive Director of FOSDA, Mrs. Theodora Anti indicated that though the education system and the curriculums has gender features, and both girls and boys knows their essence, understand and assign the value of both male and female and how to treat them, it is important the system and curriculums helps prevent gender based and violence.
A member of the team interacting with a citizen
“We want to make sure that both male and female know the value of each other and will not abuse each other on the basis of gender”.
She further indicated that, there have been numerous cases of gender based violence, especially against girls in schools as well as against women.
“We have teenage pregnancy issues. We have child abuse issues by teachers, by parents by street people, all abusing girls, and we want to ensure that this will end but this will not end if our education system does not capture gender based violence in education curriculum”, she emphasized.
According to FOSDA Executive Director, Gender Transformative Education (GTE) is an essential tool the Ghana Education Service and Ministry of Education can use to end sexual and gender based violence.
Team members ready to hit the streets to educate the public on Gender-Based Violence issues
Citing the 16 days of activism observed every year between November 20 to 25th to December 10 has been useful though abuse continues..
“We are getting more reports these days. We are getting more reports in current times more girls are in school now. So they’re able to report the perpetrators and the victims”.
“And so hopefully with this kind of activism in 16 days and continuing, we’ll get more people reporting the perpetrators who will be punished for abuses against girls.
However the introduction of the GTE into the school curriculum would compliment the numerous efforts made to end gender based violence against girls and women in the country.
“So what we are advocating that, our Ministry of Education, Gender Ministry, and all other stakeholders adopt Gender Transformative Education, as a tool to promote and minimize the gender based violence especially in our schools.
Mr. Kofi Asare, Executive Secretary-EDUWATCH
“Without education, it will be very difficult to eliminate gender based violence. So that’s our call for today because this requires concerted efforts both at the policy and legal level, at the community level and also at the school level”, she reiterated.
On his part, the Executive Secretary for EDUWATCH, Mr. Kofi Asare explained that, there is the need to make the school environment safer for girls to eradicate teenage pregnancy hence child marriage.
To him, “Everyone in the school environment including boys must see themselves as watchdogs of girls. They must prevent our girls from getting into such trouble, that’s how they should see themselves”.
“Whether they are perpetrators or not, they must see themselves as persons who have a responsibility first, to protect girls from being violated, including getting pregnant” he reiterated.
Adopt Gender Transformative Education to End Gender-Based Violence – FOSDA
However, he lamented on the inconsistency in the communication given to adolescents.
Citing a situation where there is a conflict between the information Ghana Health Service disseminates to girls at the community level and information that are disseminated in schools by the Ghana Education Service.
“Girls go to school and they are told that in order to avoid getting pregnant, abstain from sex and that alone, okay, the same girl lives school moved to the community and the Ghana Health Service is there to tell them that you can you can prevent pregnancy by abstaining and then also using contraceptives as safe sex”, he said.
Adding “So we need have a second look at the inconsistency in the advocacy between the Ghana Health Service and the Ghana Education Service communication to these girls”.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
