By Philip Tengzu
Nadowli (UW/R), Oct. 4, GNA – The African Centre for Human Rights and Sustainable Development (AfCHuRSD) has built the leadership capacities of students from selected Senior and Junior High Schools in the Nadowli-Kaleo and Daffiama-Busie-Issa (DBI) districts.
In all, 52 students and eight teachers from Daffiama and Queen of Peace SHSs, Tangasie, Kalsigra, Nadowli and Goriyiri R/C Basic School, who participated in the training, were also exposed to governance and advocacy skills.
The trainings, held at Nadowli and Daffiama, were aimed at equipping the students with leadership and public speaking skills to enable them to contribute meaningfully to leadership in their schools and communities.
The participants were also taken through the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act, 2024 (Act 1121) to deepen their understanding of gender equality and women’s participation in decision-making and the provisions of the Act.
In a presentation on the Act, Madam Bernice Naah, Executive Director of AfCHuRSD, observed that though women constituted more than 50 per cent of Ghana’s population, according to the 2020 Population and Housing Census, they remained underrepresented in formal decision-making processes.
She, however, said: “Women’s absence from public leadership and decision-making processes means that half of the population would not be adequately represented.”
Madam Naah added that the less women participated in formal decision-making, the less likely decisions were to adequately advance gender equality.
The Affirmative Action Gender Equity Act (Act 1121) had been enacted to help bridge the gap between women’s and men’s participation in leadership and decision-making.
The Act provides an important framework for improving women’s representation in leadership, with a target of at least 30 per cent representation by 2026, 35 per cent by 2028 and 50 per cent by 2034.
She expressed concern that only 41 out of the 276 Members of Parliament, representing 14.86 per cent, were women, which fell short of the minimum threshold of 30 per cent as set by Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5.
Madam Naah, however, indicated that the Act was passed after the major political parties had conducted their parliamentary primaries, which made it difficult for it to influence women’s participation in the 2024 general election.
The training formed part of AfCHuRSD’s Girls and Women Economic Empowerment, Livelihood and Participation in Leadership (GWEEL) project.
It was aimed at empowering young people, particularly young women, with knowledge and skills to participate effectively in leadership, governance and advocacy and to promote gender equality in their schools and communities.
As part of the training, the students participated in group presentations during plenary sessions to enhance their confidence, communication and public speaking skills.
They also identified career pathways in medicine, nursing, teaching, journalism, politics, and the security services, which they desired to pursue.
The students pledged to be ambassadors against teenage pregnancy and child and early marriage, which could impede their education and future career prospects.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Philip Tengzu, GNA
Reporter’s email: [email protected]