Plan International Ghana launches She Leads Social Movement to sustain girls’ rights advocacy

Plan International Ghana has launched the She Leads Social Movement. This new platform aims to advocate for girls’ rights and leadership. It follows the successful completion of the three-year She Leads Project.

The launch took place at Monarch Hotel in East Legon. Development partners, civil society actors, traditional leaders, and girls attended from across Ghana. The event marked a transition from project to movement.

Joyce Obenewaa Darko is the Project Manager for She Leads. She stated that launching this movement comes from the project's significant impact since 2021.

“It has been very transformative,” she said. “We have touched lives and built capacities of girls.”

Darko credited success to collaboration with religious and traditional authorities. She called them “champions of change” for promoting girls’ leadership.

She emphasized that this movement is a legacy of the project. It will ensure girls' voices remain strong beyond donor funding.

“We mobilized groups from school clubs and community clubs,” she explained. “Now they can unite as one She Leads Social Movement.”

This movement advocates for education, equality, and leadership for girls. Darko noted that girls' needs won't disappear when a project ends.

Madam Joyce praised Ghana’s recent Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act passage. The She Leads Project actively advocated for this law.

She mentioned that the movement will educate girls about the new law. This ensures they benefit from opportunities it creates.

“We contributed to the bill’s passage through petitions and consultations,” she said. “Now we are working on its implementation.”

Deputy Chief of Staff Nana Oye Bampoe Addo spoke at the event too. She reaffirmed government support for the movement, stating, “We are committed not only to listening but to acting.”

She announced key initiatives like a GH¢51.3 million Women’s Development Bank and a GH¢292.4 million Free Sanitary Pad Initiative.

These initiatives aim to break barriers to girls’ empowerment and inclusion.

Wendy Van Mel is Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Netherlands. She applauded partners for their coalition-building efforts in passing the Affirmative Action law.

Van Mel encouraged young people to use technology in their advocacy efforts. “The Dutch government remains your reliable partner in advancing gender equality,” she added.

The She Leads Social Movement now serves as a national platform for over a thousand girls across Ghana. It aims to advance gender equality, inclusive leadership, and protection of girls’ rights.