Nana Kofi Abuna V, the Paramount Chief of Essipong has called on the government, parents, teachers and other stakeholders to invest in women and make the education of the girl child a priority for national development.
She said counting women in, educating the girl child and inspiring their inclusion in the decision making and policies of the country, would go a long way to help in national development.
‘Women have great ideas when it comes to nation building, therefore including them in the decision-making process of the nation will help bring the needed growth and development we expect,’ she said.
She made the call at an event as part of the ongoing activities to mark the International Women’s Day, and it was organised by the National Local Authorities of Ghana (NALAG), Western Region Women Caucus.
It was on the theme ‘Inspire Inclusion: Count her in, invest in women and accelerate progress’.
Nana Abuna advised women to take interest in education by supporting their female children through schooling a
nd help them attain enviable positions in future.
She encouraged students to study hard so they could add their voices to the decision-making processes of the country.
‘When women raise their voices, it is for equity and their rights and that of others for peace and justice in our nation,’ she said.
Madam Maribel Okine, the Regional Director of the Department of Gender, tasked women to invest in themselves, starting by believing in themselves that they had the potential to do more when it came to nation building and development.
‘You need to persevere through life regardless of the challenges you encounter, make yourself counted,’ he said.
She called on the Ghana Education service to keep on investing in children of school going age especially the girl child for national development.
Dr Bertha Danso, a Senior Lecturer at the Takoradi Technical University (TTU), urged women to work hard and put in more efforts and determination to sail through life.
‘Utilise all resources at your disposal, you can make
it in life irrespective of your gender, status in life and age,’ she said.
She entreated women and young girls not to look down on themselves, but rather take up challenging roles that would help shape them for development.
Dr Danso urged students not to hesitate in seeking help, encouraging them to seek ideas, share them and produce results amongst their peers, because inclusiveness was beneficial for self-progress and nation building.
Other participants expressed joy at the gradual progress of women in the society and encouraged each other especially the younger ones to do more for the nation’s future.
Participating groups were students from the Ahantaman Girls Senior High School, Sekondi College, Kojokrom and Sekondi Market Women Association, Assembly and Unit Committee Members and Academicians all in the Western Region.
Source: Ghana News Agency