The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs on Thursday said although women have chalked remarkable achievements in various fields, negative cultural and traditional beliefs and practices continued to relegate them to lower status in the family, community and society.

"The incidence of incest, rape, defilement, marital rape and wife battering have been the various forms of gender-based violence in our homes," it said in a statement to mark the International Women's Day, which falls on Friday.

The UN theme for this year is: "Afghan women today: Realities and opportunities." The day is being celebrated in Ghana under the theme: "A year of women peace and security."

The national event to commemorate the day would take place at Apam in the Central Region. The Ministry said while these developments had been unnerving, the new dimension of spousal murder posed a serious threat to women's lives and the stability of the home.

"Lack of economic independence of women gives rise to their insecurity in the home and society, with single mothers being the worst victims. "Unable to feed their children, some mothers willingly hand them over to be engaged in child labour."

The statement noted that a large number of children, mainly from the Central Region were currently engaged in fishing along the Volta Lake, with many of them losing their lives.

"There is no denying the fact that a sound and secure home is inseparable from a peaceful society that we have all been advocating for. "When there is chaos in the home, it spills over into the community and society at large.

"As we celebrate this year's International Women's day, let us all acknowledge the important role women play in the development of our nation." The statement said there was no conflict that could not be resolved peacefully, adding, let us learn to settle our differences without resorting to violence."

Turning to the international theme, the Ministry said the aftermath of the attack on the US World Trade Centre and consequent declaration of war against terrorism brought into the glare the gender discrimination among the Afghan people.

It said Afghan women had been silent victims of the worst kind of social and economic injustices for the past 20 years. "Today, an enabling environment has been created to facilitate peaceful resolution of the many problems that confront them."