The Head of the Department of Gender in the Volta Region, Mrs Thywill Kpe, has expressed regret that five of the 18 local Assemblies in the Region have no elected female Assembly Members.
She said the Anloga, Akatsi North, Akatsi South, Adaklu and Hohoe districts and municipalities did not elect females, saying this mirrored the low participation of women in leadership and decision making across all levels.
Mrs Kpe was speaking at the Women and Persons with Disability (PWD) Inclusion Summit organised by the Global Action for Women Empowerment (GLOWA) to mark the International Women’s Day.
She said women appointees to Assemblies in the Region accounted for just 19 per cent and, therefore, called on stakeholders to address factors limiting women empowerment, saying this would require dedicated policies, law enforcement and special attention to PWDs.
“Achieving Gender equality and inclusion calls for deliberate investment in the empowerment of women and other vulnerable groups, policies and programmes must be intentional in addressing the barriers to women involvement in development.
“In this regard, women’s economic empowerment, networking and mentorship, their participation in decision making, access to quality education for all females and advocacy on women’s rights are key in achieving inclusion and development,” she said.
Mrs Kpe added that enforcing laws that would safeguard women’s rights and prevent all forms of harassment in every environment should also become a priority.
This year’s world women’s day was being commemorated on the theme: “Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress” and brought together women groups in the region.
The NGO is implementing the Action for Voice and Inclusive Development (AVID) project in the Volta Region, which is an initiative funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation through STAR Ghana.
Under the project, women receive livelihood enhancement skills, support for economic activities and other forms of empowerment to contest for Assembly membership and other leadership positions in their communities.
Rosemond Ewoenam Atutonu, the Executive Director of GLOWA, spoke of the successes of the project, and said stakeholders hoped to expand it.She said GLOWA considered setting up a skills training center for women in the Region.
From Samuel Akumatey, Ho
GNA
