WOMEN URGED TO TAKE UP ROLES IN ASSEMBLIES (D/G, Friday, April 17, 2009. PAGE 17)

WOMEN in the various assemblies in the Upper East Region have been urged to take up education on the standing orders of the various municipalilties and districts to empower them to take up challenging roles in the assemblies.
The Upper East Regional Programme Manager of the Action Aid Ghana, a non- governmental organisation, Mr Michael Lumor, gave the advice in a speech read on his behalf at a meeting of assembly women at Bolgatanga.
The meeting, attended by the 47 Assembly women from the nine municipal and district assemblies in the region, was organised by the Regional Intersectorial Gender Network with the support of Actionaid Ghana.
It was aimed, among other objectives at integrating the newly appointed women into a regional Assembly women caucus in order to enhance the confidence of the women in the decision making process at the local level.
Mr Lumor said the struggle for empowerment and equality of women could not be achieved, if they lacked the requisite legal language and terms used on the floor of the assemblies and therefore urged them to position themselves well by mastering the standing orders .
The Programme Manager also entreated the women to vie for leadership positions, especially at the sub-committee levels, to make their voices heard.
He also encouraged the women to desist from being “back benchers” at their respective assemblies and rather develop the confidence to contribute meaningfully to proceedings of the house.
“To win the fight of getting more women elected will largely depend on how the current crop of Assembly women perform to the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the electorate,” he said.
Mr Lumor said Actionaid Ghana was committed to working with women in leadership by providing the necessary skills needed for effective local governance, adding that his outfit would continue to build and sustain the caucus of Assembly women to ensure that they continued to be the mouthpiece of women in the region.
The Chairperson of the Assembly Women Caucus, Madam Stella Yembilah, encouraged individuals and organisations to commit resources towards the capacity building efforts of members. That way, they will be better placed to carry out their role effectively.
Mr Daud Abang Gos, the Chairman of the Regional Intersectorial Gender Network, expressed the hope that the platform created for the assembly women would make members assertive and help them to work harder in the interest of women and children.
Between 2002 and 2006, there were 50 Assembly women in the region, made up of 15 elected and 35 appointed. Currently, there are 47 women serving in the various assemblies, comprising 21 elected and 26 appointed.