Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung@ 40 in Ghana Chapter Four Fighting for Gender Equality: Friedrich- Ebert- Stiftung(FES) in Ghana. By Rose Mensah-Kutin(PhD) ABANTU for Development West Africa Accra-Ghana 1.0 Introduction As one of the pillars of democratic governance, the holding of successful elections points to some marked level of commitment on the part of citizens and the state, to establish a democratic environment within which development can be promoted. Another important component of the promotion of democratic governance is that of inclusiveness through the promotion of human rights. Indeed Ghana recognises the value this brings into the process of development and has made provisions within the 1992 constitution to ensure compliance. Article 12(2) of the constitution talks about fundamental human rights and freedoms and notes categorically that “every person in Ghana whatever his race, place of origin, political opinion, colour, religion, creed or gender shall be entitled to the fundamental human rights and freedoms of the individual contained in this chapter, but subject to repeal for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest”. While Ghana has made a lot of progress on many of the issues listed in the constitution on the promotion of human rights, when it comes to the promotion of women's rights, there are huge gaps that need to be addressed. In this paper therefore we are interested in discussing efforts being made by the FES in supporting women's organisations and institutions to promote women's rights in Ghana. After this introduction, some information about the state of gender equality in policy making and implementation in Ghana is provided. This is followed up with a discussion on the extent to which women have opportunity to participate in politics and public life, the impact of FES' work on gender equality, and how this can 25