By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Oct. 11, GNA – The Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD-Ghana) has engaged stakeholders in the Wa Municipality on Community Score Cared findings as part of efforts to change the negative social and gender norms against Girls and Young Women (GYW).
The CARD-Ghana employed the Community Score Card, a new data collection tool, to assess the level of meaningful inclusion of GYW in decision-making and leadership at the community level.
It formed part of the implementation of the She Leads project in the Wa Municipality by CARD-Ghana in partnership with Plan International Ghana.
Miss Ernestina Biney, the She Leads project Coordinator at CARD-Ghana, said her organisation had used the Time Diary data collection tool to assess the level of duty-sharing between boys and girls at home.
She said the findings of that tool enable CARD-Ghana advocate and lobby stakeholders to promote the sharing of household chores among boys and girls to reduce the burden on girls in performing those chores.
Miss Biney explained that the Community Score Card finding would enable them to increase their advocacy on the need to meaningfully include GYW in decision-making and leadership at all levels of society, especially in the communities.
“This finding will also help in policy formulation and enacting of by-laws in promoting GYW’s inclusion in decision making,” she added.
Pognaa Amamata Mumuni, the Queen Mother of Duori, in Wa, stated that the low inclusion of females in the decision-making process was disturbing and needed concerted efforts to be addressed.
The Queen Mother urged stakeholders to create opportunities for females to partake in decision-making and leadership for the betterment of the country.
“Females should prove their competence and be well-behaved so that they can gain the trust of the society”, Pognaa Mumuni, who is also the Wa Municipal Girl-child Education Coordinator said.
Madam Felicia Baganiah, the President of the Upper West Regional branch of the She Leads Social Movement, in a presentation on the Community Score Card findings, said the finding showed evidence of stereotype, bias and discrimination from the community members, especially their male counterparts towards GYW’s leadership and in decision making.
She said the findings indicated that men considered GYW as emotionally weak and not mature enough to make decisions on certain community issues as well as could not be trusted to keep secret hence their exclusion in the decision-making process.
The findings also showed that some men thought GYW were incompetent and incapable of taking up leadership positions and that the family or clan did not consider GYW as leaders and thus excluded them from leadership.
Madam Baganiah, therefore, reiterated the need for a paradigm shift in the notion, social norms, and mentality of people towards GYW’s capabilities in contributing meaningfully to decision-making and leadership.
“We need to embark on behavioural communication by sensitising our communities on the importance of female leadership, which will bring development to the community,” Mr Felix Wuurah, the Wa Municipal Director of the National Youth Authority, said.
He also advocated for a deliberate policy to target the youth, including young women by identifying, building their capacities, and supporting them to contest for local governance positions.
A total of 100 girls, 20 girls each from Sagu, Chegli, Kperisi, Nyagli, and Chansa communities, participated in the data collection process.
GNA