Published on 09.03.2023 at 4:11 p.m. by Journal du Gabon. Com with Gabon Review
Established in memory of the struggles led by women around the world, International Women’s Day illustrates the advances in equality between women and men in all areas, but above all to recall the path that remains to browse. For this year, the Minister in charge of Human Rights and Gender Equality, Erlyne Antonela Ndembet-Damas, indicated that this day is also a day of action, awareness and mobilization.
If International Women’s Day is a time to take stock of the progress of women’s rights in the world and in each country, it is also a day of action, awareness and mobilization in favor of greater involvement and greater consideration of women in the management of States and in the development of societies, said Erlyne Antonela Ndembet-Damas. In her speech for the occasion, this March 8, she returned to “the government’s unremitting efforts to promote and guarantee women’s rights“. For the 2023 edition, the theme chosen by the United Nations is “For an Inclusive Digital World: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality».
International day marking the recognition of States in the fights of women for the conquest of their rights, March 8 makes it possible to reaffirm the commitments in favor of professional equality between women and men, but also to fight against stereotypes and inequalities. of gender. For the Gabonese Minister of Human Rights and Gender Equality, Gabon has initiated and implemented numerous measures in favor of a more effective guarantee of women’s rights. This, after having subscribed to numerous international and regional legal instruments.
Erlyne Antonela Ndembet-Damas suggests that measures, integrated in particular within the framework of the national strategy to combat gender inequalities, known as Gabon Equality, deployed since 2020, have made it possible to make significant and decisive progress in the protection of women. women and their empowerment. “Thus, we extracted from our legal corpus all the standards which established certain inequalities between men and women and which constituted obstacles to the social and professional development of the latter.“, she said.
The Keeper of the Seals continues, explaining that Gabon has strengthened its criminal legislation to introduce more dissuasive penalties and sanctions against the perpetrators of violence, discrimination and harassment against women. “Finally, she pointed out, we have put in place a set of proactive mechanisms to make the guarantee of women’s rights effective through precise indicators. These mechanisms include popularization, awareness-raising and training actions on the new legal corpus aimed at law enforcement officials, members of civil society and all sections of the population.».
To stick to the official theme of this day, the supervising ministry chose as national theme, “Gender equality and women’s rights: inclusion and contribution of women to the digital boom in Gabon». «On this basis, a set of activities will be organized with the aim of promoting women’s rights and providing them with the means for their empowerment.“said the Minister of Justice. She adds, implying that “the fight for equality between women and men is a fight that concerns us all and, above all, that requires the unreserved involvement of all women».
Source: Gabon Review
