Elmina, Dec 20, GNA – The youth, particularly females, have been encouraged to build self-competencies to enable them to take leadership roles in social and economic environments.
Ms Araba Annan, the Executive Director of Women Aspire Network (WAN), said young ladies, taking up leadership roles, could change the narrative of abuses, lack of skills training, development and inadequate employment avenues.
She made the remarks at a training session organized by WAN under its five-year “She-Leads” project.
The programme is being rolled out in five regions across the country.
The training was aimed at equipping about 30 young girls with the requisite knowledge to be able to engage with Civil Society Organizations (CSO’s) in their various communities.
The project seeks to bring together child rights, feminist and women’s rights, girls and young women (GYW)-led groups to enhance their influence of (GYW) on decision making and the transformation of gender norms in formal and informal institutions.
Ms Annan charged young girls to be focused on achieving their aspirations and be able to speak up and stand out for themselves.
She said that would make it imperative for the Government to realize their potentials and include them in various decision and policy-making bodies of the country.
Mr Johnson De-Graft Taylor, Planning Officer of the Komenda-Edina Eguafo- Abrem (KEEA) Municipality, who took schooling participants on the roles of District Assemblies in the country, said the citizenry had the right to hold Assemblies accountable on developmental projects in their communities.
He said some laws could support them to petition against the Assemblies when they were not satisfied with their activities.
On women participating in local governance, Mr Taylor explained that strengthening women participation in all spheres of life had become a major issue in economic and social development.
He said the under-representation of women at any level of governance and decision making resulted in a democratic deficit.
He said women participation and representation in local decision-making processes was critical for prioritizing women’s practical needs and issues in local government agenda and for localizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) five, which is about gender equality, he stressed.
Mr Taylor urged the women to fully participate in local governance to bridge the gap of gender inequalities and equity.
Mr Michael Bentil-Arthur, the former Assembly Member for Bakaano Electoral Area in KEEA, said the participants should engage with CSOs and hold authorities accountable when needed.
He asked the young ladies to be assertive in the face of challenges to be able to achieve their ambitions.
Mr Arthur charged them to take up leadership roles to impact positively in the community and the country at large.
GNA