Tamale, Nov. 16, GNA - Chiefs and opinion leaders in Lamakra and Wurishegu in the Tamale Metropolis have embraced women aspirants for the upcoming District Assembly Elections saying they have lost trust in men's leadership.

They claimed that the men in the past had been disappointing and had rather joined the political wagon to insult and attack opponents to the detriment of development. The chiefs and opinion leaders said this during a durbar on gender equity organized by Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA) with support from European Union (EU) under the Support for Women Participating in Elections (SWOPE) programme.

The programme, which seeks to push women into leadership positions to enhance gender equity in decision making, is supporting assembly women aspirants to increase the number of women in district assemblies from 20% to 30%.

The chiefs and people of the area said they had been voting for men over the years but they had not seen any change in development and had lost trust in men as leaders, adding "men are greedy and incapable." Miss Khidijah Iddrisu, Field Officer of GDCA-SWOPE programme, lauded the chiefs and opinion leaders in the two communities for embracing their assembly women aspirants.

"It is a clear sign that people are no longer interested in chieftaincy and political issues but development and issues that affect their livelihoods."

She said the programme was not only to introduce women aspirants into the community members but was also to showcase their potentials in leadership. Mr. MacMathew Chancellor, the Director in charge of Public Education at the National Commission for Civic Education in the Northern Region, appealed to the people to support women aspiring to leadership positions, adding that this would also encourage girl child education. 16 Nov 10