When Things Happen For Women, Everything Happens

A few things are happening for women around the globe. Some accomplished women have made it to the Forbes List of trailblazers and achievers. Fortune 500 recognises the phenomenal contribution of women to the successes of many blue-chip companies who have done well because of the calibre of women on their Boards.

If Hilary Clinton's proposed bid to lead the Democrats in the 2016 elections is successful, the American Dream will come alive for women in the United States and around the world. Already, the few women political leaders in the world have shown their hard mettle and proven that women empowerment has long ceased being a cliché; it is the right thing to do.

While Affirmative Action policies have afforded women some representation in a few political and social decision making places, the statistics are worrying and revealing. In the Ghanaian Parliament, women occupy only 30seats out of 275 (10.9%) and in terms of ministerial appointments have 18 out of 93 positions (19.4%). At the District Assembly level, only 412 women out of 6093 Members speak for women and issues affecting the development of women. Women are underrepresented on nearly every decision making platform and suffer many cultural and traditional abuses that affect their political and professional development. Yet, women continue to distinguish themselves whenever they are given the opportunity–even in the midst of deliberate discrimination.

The world needsa lot more of Ellen JohnsonSirleaf of Liberia, Mimi Alemayehou of Ethiopia, Vera Songwe of Cameroon, Tata Fela-Durotoye, RapelangRabana, Claire Akamanzi of Rwanda, Valentina da luz Guebuza of Mozambique, Hadeel Ibrahim of Sudan, AlengotOromait of Uganda and Monica Musonda of Zambian.

We will do with a lot more of LindiweMazibuko of South Africa, Minoush Abdel-Meguid of Egypt, Ola Orekunrin of Nigeria, Sibongile Sambo of South Africa, Lupita Nyong'o of Kenya, AminiKajunju of Congo, Folake Folarin-Coker of Nigeria, NoViolet Bulawayo of Zimbabwe, WagenchiMutu of Kenya and OtemaYirenkyi of Ghana.

To women and girls around the world who share in ActionAid's development vision of gender parity and women empowerment, I dedicate this prose poem:

A big part of the world's population I am!
The other half, like it or not owe their physical existence to me

I wonderfully carried them within me for months in joy

And when those months of expectation are over,
The joy of delivery supersedes the pain of labour
Nurturing never gets exhausted even after my offspring taste adulthood

Can I decide the one to spend the rest of my life with?

Can I decide when to bear children, where I want to and how many to have?

Can I decide the paternity of my children and whether or not I want to have children?

All I want is to have control over that body that makes me woman.

Make it happen!
Do I have the power to decide what I want to become in future?

Do I have that power to choose the sector where I want to work?

Do I have the freedom to work in any environment I chose?

Do I have the chance to be me when nature calls at the time of the month?

Do I have the liberty to enjoy the rest I need during my months of expectation?

Do I operate as Nature has made me in the environment I call work?

Make it happen!
Just like the other, can I have access and control to a piece of land?

Just like the other, are my opinions heard in important decisions?

Just like my other, do I decide what to use my income for?

Just like my other, can I aspire to inspire to any level of leadership?

Just like my other, can I do all the above without being tagged?

Make it Happen!
All I want is a world friendly to my existence
A world where I can be me!
A world where I can be a woman without fear and shame

Make it happen!
Somewhere in this world, parents are getting rid of fetuses 'cause they are feminine

Women are victims to all forms of abuse and violence

When there is enough money to sponsor one child, I have to step down for a brother

WhenI choose a certain field of study, I am discouraged only 'cause its male dominated

I am tagged when I choose to have absolute control over my body and my future

I have to farm my father's land when I could afford a piece just 'cause I am a woman

When I am sexually abused and I decide to voice it out, close friends ask if I am sure it was an abuse, just because the perpetrator is a friend

Why should I be abused 'cause of a body part I own?

Why must my own kind justify abuse on me?
I deserve aworld where there is no rape, human trafficking, child marriage, female foeticide, honour killing, female genital mutilation, gender inequality and other brutalities against women.

Educate me to be empowered to make decisions that will foster my development

An environment where I spend less time in partaking in financially unrewarding activities

An environment where when a man helps a woman in the kitchen and he is not mocked and it doesn't look out of place

An environment where boys and girls are given equal space to prosper

An environment where we all frown on abuse of women no matter the perpetrator is

An environment where I choose my life partner and decide when to have children and how many to have

An environment where I have a planned life to choose my career and lifestyle

An environment where I am allowed to fly and lead the process of the change

Kwadwo, Yaw, Afi ,Lamisi, Fiifi, Etse, Ahale, Yarkor, Akua, Kofi, You and I can certainly “Make it happen!”

You and I should and can 'Make it happen!'
By NaaYarleyCudjoe
Project Officer, Young Urban Women's Livelihood and Life Choices Project

ActionAid Ghana