The National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) has held a sensitisation forum at Somanya in the Yilo Krobo District to increase women’s participation in the upcoming District Level Elections (DLE).
The forum forms part of education and sensitisation drive by the NCCE to encourage more women to participate in the district level elections to improve their representation in decision making.
Mrs Henrietta Glikpo, Municipal Director of NCCE, said their aim was to woo more women and people with disabilities to pick forms to contest the district Assembly and unit committee elections to champion their cause at that level.
She noted that stereotypes, fear and other conditions such as the lack of education, prevented most women from contesting at local level elections and taking other leadership roles.
Most of the women are brave and well-articulated but they lacked the confidence to participate in the elections “we are hoping that our education activities will go a long way to help break the barriers for more women to contest and win.”
Mrs Glikpo, told the women at the forum that decision making in governance was not the preserve of men and that the voice of women mattered in ensuring gender equality.
“Your role is not only about housekeeping, cooking and caring for children, you must also participate in decision making such as market tolls, which affects your trading activities,” she added.
The Yilo Krobo assembly has no female representative within any of the Electoral areas apart from the Government appointees and GNA has gathered that so far, no woman had shown interest to contest.
Madam Hannah Badzi Tetteh, a participant at the forum told GNA that she wanted to contest for the SRA electoral area, but lost interest after finding out that Assembly members were not paid a monthly salary.
GNA
