By Paul Eduarko Richardson
Accra, March 19, GNA – Mrs Joana Adzoa Opare, Eminent Member, National Peace Council (NPC), has encouraged women to take an active role in peace building for national stability and development.
She said creating a peaceful society should not be the role of only men, but women must work together with the men to achieve such purpose.
She noted that women were endowed with strong attention to detail, an ability they should capitalise on to gather and share information to prevent the possible occurrence of insecurity and conflicts.
Mrs Opare made the call on Tuesday when the National Peace Council (NPC) joined the Women in Security Services to celebrate the 2024 International Women’s Day and to highlight how women could promote peace in Ghana’s 2024 General Election.
The event which took place at the Ghana National Fire Service Headquarters in Accra, was on the theme: “Inspire Inclusion – The Role of Women in the Security Services and the National Peace Council in Peace Building before, during and after Election 2024”.
Participants came from the Fire Service Ladies Association (FISLA) and the Immigration Ladies Association (IMMILAC).
Mrs Opare charged the Women in Security Services to do their best, both individually and collectively, to promote peace and security in the upcoming elections.
She added that: “If there should be peace, it should be peace within and peace without. Peace starting from you as a woman, as an individual. If you don’t have peace within you, you cannot go looking for peace outside of you.”
Mrs Theodora Williams Anti, Executive Director, Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA), said society perceived women as peace makers, adding that, women should let such perception motivate them and leverage it to contribute more towards peace.
She said peace building should not be limited to activities geared towards ending war but should rather the daily efforts people make to prevent conflicts and wars from occurring.
Such efforts, she said, included stopping all forms of violence against women, bridging the gender gap, and providing special programmes to empower women.
She urged the Women in Security Services to take up activism and advocacy for peace and involve themselves in mediation and conflict resolution roles to foster a peaceful nation.
Madam Doris Lamptey, Assistant Chief Fire Officer 1 and National President of FISLA, said: “As women, we bring a unique perspective to the table. Our empathy, compassion, and resilience are invaluable assets in promoting dialogue, understanding and reconciliation in times of conflict and uncertainty.”
Mrs Maud Anima Quainoo, Head of Operations Secretariat, Ghana Immigration Service, said children must be trained to appreciate diverse perspectives on issues so that they would grow up to become champions of inclusion and harmony in the society.
Other Security Officers present at the event also highlighted some ways women could contribute to peace building.
These included the need for women to avoid inciting men towards violence, women calming down tensions when deployed to communities, teaching children to respect equal rights and avoid discrimination, and promoting family life balance and peaceful households.
GNA