Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD Ghana) in partnership with Plan International Ghana has launched the Upper West Regional chapter of the She Leads Social Movement in Wa over the weekend.
The launch followed a series of activities and interventions that have been implemented by CARD with support from Plan International Ghana under the She Leads Campaign, a project to empower females with skills and knowledge to participate and take on leadership roles in political and electoral processes.
The She Leads Campaign is also targeted at increasing the sustained influence of girls and young women on decision-making and the transformation of gender norms in both formal and informal settings.
The Movement is aimed at bringing together networks of girls, young women groups, organizations and individuals who share the vision of promoting female leadership and participation and giving girls and young women (GYW) equal opportunities to lead.
“If you are a man, a young person and your goal is to promote equal opportunities for girls and young women, you are a member of the She Leads,” the She Leads Program Manager, Madam Anna Nabere said at the launch.
She added that the She Leads campaign was not only about girls but also about their boy counterparts because “we know that we cannot achieve these goals alone if we leave the boys behind.
“We always want the boys to know that we are preparing the girls for them, and if we are preparing somebody for you, you should be the first to support the initiative.”
Madam Nabere indicated that the She Leads Project was working with young people, young people-led and girl-led groups and organizations to empower them to influence positive change in their communities.
She added that the project worked with pre-tertiary and tertiary schools as well as traditional authorities to advance the cause of girl’s and women’s leadership in the institutions and communities.
Madam Nabere urged the GYW to remain focus and see themselves as capable people that could be trusted with leadership roles despite the challenges they were confronted with.
“We’re also encouraging you, the girls and young women, to remain focused and see yourselves as capable human beings that can hold leadership positions despite all the challenges you are encountering,” she urged.
The Upper West Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Madam Charity Batuure stressed the need for the presence both physical female representation and gender representation on tables of discussion to ensure inclusivity.
She made the comments at the backdrop that there were some women who were not gender sensitive and, on the other hand, some men who were gender sensitive.
“What I mean by having gender on the table is that we can have a round table of discussion where both men and women have interest in the issues of gender, then in that case even in the absence of the physical representation of women, the voice of gender would be heard,” she explained.
She said gender inclusivity was not only about women but men too, and that both men and women should contribute to protecting the gender privileges of each other.
The President of the She Leads Social Movement, Madam Felicia Baganiah said the movement shall concern itself with establishing mentorship and networking programs, organizing advocacy and awareness campaigns and training programs to effectively contribute to the empowerment and development of GYW.
She stressed the need to look beyond the project duration of the She Lead Campaign to creating lasting impacts to inspire future generations of GYW leaders and foster a gender responsive society that embraces diversity and inclusivity.
The chief of Nyagli, one of the communities in which the She Leads Project was being implemented, Naa Issah Seidu applauded the She Leads project saying that, it has sensitized his community to the immense importance of education, especially girl child education, and that most girls who were out of school have re-enrolled and doing extremely well.
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