Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings President of the 31st December Women’s Movement says there is need to reflect on the gaps that makes gender and equality a reality and find lasting solutions to them.

In a message to mark International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8, the former First Lady said “this is the time to uphold women’s achievements, recognise challenges, call for change, celebrate acts of courage and determination by ordinary women who have played extraordinary roles and focus attention on women’s rights and gender equality”.

She acknowledged the fact that after 20 years of the Beijing conference “we are still struggling with the 12 areas of concern agreed on at the Beijing conference”.

She said the 31st December Women's Movement has worked tirelessly on championing the cause of women over the years, “but there is still a lot more to be done if we as women are to achieve our goal”.

This year’s International Women’s Day is on the theme “Empowering Women, Empowering Humanity”.

The day highlights the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which is a historic roadmap signed by 189 governments 20years ago to set the agenda for realising women’s rights.

The Beijing Platform for Action focuses on 12 critical areas of concern and envisions a world where each woman and girl can exercise her choices, such as participating in politics, getting education, having an income and living in a society which is devoid of violence and discrimination.

“While there have been many successes since then, many serious gaps still remained”, Nana Konadu added.