Women urged to aspire for higher positions

Accra, May 23, GNA- Ms Esther Ofei-Aboagye, Deputy Director of the Institute of Local Government, on Tuesday called on women to aspire for top positions at decision-making levels to promote good governance.

She noted that a critical mass of women is needed in politics to accelerate development in the country. Ms Ofei-Aboagye was speaking at the closing ceremony of a two-day workshop on "Preparation towards the Beijing Plus Five Conference" scheduled for June 5 - 9. It was organised by the National Council on Women and Development (NCWD) and the United Nations as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Council.

She said since the number of women in decision-making levels is very minimal, they are often not able to make the needed impact. She noted that the few women, who find their way into such positions, are often intimidated and harassed in various ways by their male counterparts, making their work difficult.

Ms Ofei-Aboagye emphasised the need for a massive approach to enlighten women on their right to participate in politics. They should be educated so that as mothers they could in turn "educate our children, who are supposed to be the future leaders". She said interest in politics could also be created at the tertiary level, where girls could be encouraged to contest for positions of responsibility in various organisations.

She appealed to women pressure groups to set up funds to finance women, who want to go into politics saying, "women should stop forming wings in political parties and be part of the main party so that they can have full mandates and equal opportunities during elections".

Dr Kwaku Yeboah, Programmes Manager of the National AIDS Control Programme, who spoke on the implications for women empowerment in respect to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, said women being very vulnerable to the disease must be given the mandate to champion the cause for protection. He said the AIDS epidemic, which is now a global problem, needs a world-wide political commitment to combat it and, therefore, every positive view is needed from all avenues to combat it.

Dr Yeboah appealed to the public and women in particular to adopt positive attitudes towards preventing HIV/AIDS and help those already infected to have the courage to live normal lives. Dr Yeboah said the Ministry of Health is working on a programme, which will bring the testing for HIV to the doorsteps.

Mrs Charlotte Abaka, Chairperson, NCWD, who presented a paper on behalf of Dr Peter Acquah, Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, appealed to women to be more cautious of their role in the protection of the environment.

"As women, who deal more in the domestics, we must ensure that our surroundings, water bodies and land are clean and free from degradation to protect our children from contracting diseases and also save our climate from changes that bring calamities as a result of famine". She called on women to be advocates of environmental protection in the country through their involvement in decision-making.