A former assemblyman for Medie in the Ga West Municipality in Greater Accra Region has suggested that women should be made to dominate district assemblies to drive development and good local governance in rural areas.
According to Gbangbariwura Agoro II, majority of women are very compassionate, public spirited and welfare oriented adding,” It will also give us a strong reason to implement affirmative action on their behalf in Parliament and Cabinet”
The former assemblyman had lauded the Young Urban Women project which among others was giving leadership training to females aged between 15 and 25.
So far 1,000 members drawn from Kpobiman and surrounding towns including Medie, all in the Ga West Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, have been taught public speaking, volunteerism and the rights of women.
Action Aid Ghana is partnering the Ark foundation, Ghana, to implement the project which is sponsored by the Norwegian Development Agency.
The two-and-a-half-year project seeks to mobilize and empower 2,000 young women between the ages of 15-25 years in poor urban and peri-urban areas in Ghana.
It is formulated on four thematic areas, namely Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (SRHR), Decent Work and Livelihood Choices, Violence against Women and Unpaid Care Work (household chores).
Gbangbariwura Agoro II said, “Women know the strengths and weaknesses of their societies better because they bear all the burdens. If their conditions improve, conditions of society would automatically improve.
“It therefore stands to reason that if we offer them more opportunities and space in leadership and decision making processes, we are making the path to our own development and happiness”, he further stated.
According to him, women were finding it difficult to have a foothold in politics because of the inherent power relations that favoured men in the society adding,” We therefore need to help our women to establish a formidable political base before they can also survive the raw and unforgiving political struggle.”
He said, “Let’s set them free to soar like birds in a sky of limitless opportunities. Like mother birds which cares for their chicks, they would find the best forage for strong nests, the best food to feed and imbibe in the young ones the instinct and knowledge of survival, compassion and self-actualization,” he said.
Source: GhanaWeb
