By
Gifty Amofa/ Priscilla Oye Ofori, GNA
Accra, Nov. 21, GNA
– Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, the Speaker of Parliament has reiterated the
need to extend the maternity leave period from three to six months to enable
mothers raise healthy children.
“I have advocated
and will continue to do so that our maternity leave period should be six months
so that a mother would have ample time to take care of her baby,” he noted.
Professor Oquaye was
speaking at the World Children’s Day Celebration and launch of Children’s
Parliament held in Accra.
The Celebration also
coincided with the 30 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC),
which Ghana was first to ratify.
He recommended it to
Dr Kojo Appiah-Kubi, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Gender,
Children and Social Protection, to take it up to the appropriate committee and
said together, they would see to make it a reality.
The Speaker said the
rights of children were inter-woven with those of their mothers and that those
of the children should not be fought for in isolation.
He said fighting for
the rights of children included; good health thus, since every foetus develops
in a woman, they must give birth on beds, have access to hospitals, so as to
give birth to healthy babies who would become healthy young people and be
useful to the society.
Professor Oquaye
said some women give birth in circumstances that were not the best and many
people deprived them of things that made them to suffer some form of
kwashiorkor and other related areas, adding that all pointed out to one thing,
that Ghana must look out to an affirmative action law and the emancipation of
women in a manner that would promote the rights of the child.
He urged all to
promote the rights of the child and not take advantage of the innocence and
abuse them, particularly, sexual abuse, among others.
“In as much as
Ghanaian children were taught to participate in the cardinal principles of the
CRC, they need to be impacted with societal ideals, beliefs and values, he
urged.
He called on the
arms of government, law enforcing agencies, traditional leaders, Civil Society
Organisations, private and public sectors, media, parents, teachers and care
givers to re-affirm their commitments on an occasion like this towards the
realisation of children’s rights as a measure to improve on the lives of
children.
Professor Oquaye
advised children to fear God, obey rules and learn hard to be good future
leaders coupled with the traditional values they had and said these were the
main sources of good behaviour in the life of a Ghanaian child.
He encouraged them
to be hardworking and shun criminal behaviour in order to become good future
leaders.
Madam Hajia Alima
Mahama, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development who read a speech on
behalf of the Vice President said, the United Nations member states had to
collectively take action to address the difficulties that children experienced
in their lives.
She stated that the
difficulties included exploitation, starvation, lack of shelter and sometimes
killing of children in the war-torn countries and with no parental care.
Madam Cynthia Mamle
Morrison, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection said there should
be a new era for the protection of children, adequate resources for child
protection issues, responsible parenting, full implementation of law protecting
children and an era where children had peace and happiness they needed to grow
into responsible adults.
She said that every
duty bearer must wake up to their roles and responsibilities and make the
children grow up happy and protected from all harm and abuse.
Dr Appiah-Kubi said
though Ghana achieved a lot with the ratification of the CRC, many continued to
suffer from extreme poverty, child labour, physical abuse and others that took
away their self-confidence.
During the
Children’s Parliament session, the children appealed to the law enforcing
agencies to crack the whip to protect their liberties.
GNA
