Executive Director of the Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA – Ghana), Hajia Alimah Sagito – Saeed has called for the swift passage of the Affirmative Action Bill by Parliament to help provide a platform for more women to be mainstreamed into national decision – making, for harnessing diverse perspectives towards development.
Hajia Alimah made this call at an event to celebrate women around the world, organized by RAFELA – Ghana in partnership with SWIDA – Ghana, in which she was also the chairperson.
The event took place under the theme “Generation Equality: the role of Women in Local Governance.
RAFELA was launched in Tangiers, Morocco in 2011 and is being managed by an Executive Bureau including members representing the five Regions of Africa. It supports the development of Women Leadership within the African City, MMDAs, as well as the inclusion of the concerns of women in the definition and implementation of African City and Local Government’s policies and strategies.
RAFELA – Ghana Chapter was launched on the International Women’s Day, with focus on how it will support women in Ghana through advocacy for capacity building and for inclusion in the Ghana local governance system.
Speaking on the topic “Enhancing Women’s Active Presence in Local Governance”, the SWIDA – Ghana Director indicated that even though there has been an improvement in the number of women who participate in Local Governance in Ghana, their impact is still not felt because they are not placed in positions where they can influence decision making, as she attributed the challenges of women’s active presence in local governance to low educational levels, inadequate finance, the social – cultural orientation on the role of women in society, among others.
Host of the event, who is also Chief Executive for the Sagnarigu Municipality, Honorable Mariam Iddrisu, encouraged women to see themselves as equally competent as men, to participate in politics and decision making.
The Guest of Honour for the event and Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alimah Mahama who spoke on the theme of the event “Generation Equality: The Role of Women in Local Governance”, stated that it was important for women in Northern Ghana in particular to take keen interest in political and decision making processes.
She added that the number of women in Ghana’s political landscape was not encouraging, based on which they must be bold to take up political positions to increase the presence of women in the political space.
The event was climaxed with solidarity messages from partners such as the Country Director for Plan Ghana, as well as a Representative from Action Aid-Ghana, who expressed their gratitude to the organisers of the event for heightening discussions on the need for more women in the decision – making space in Ghana’s local governance system.
Each of them spoke briefly to how important it was for the world to recognise and celebrate the efforts of women, as they indicated their willingness to collaborate and support activities of the newly launched RAFELA – Ghana Chapter in the near future.
Citations were presented to 13 women who have distinguished themselves in several ways in helping to ensure the course of women preserved and guarded for the achievement of purpose.
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