It said some women had the capabilities, qualifications, and competence to take up leadership roles, but needed encouragement and support to present themselves for such opportunities and responsibilities.

Madam Bernice Naah, the Executive Director of AfCHURSD, made the appeal at Nadowli during a capacity-building workshop for community-level influencers to empower them to lead female leadership advocacy in their communities.

It was also to sensitise the participants who comprised traditional leaders, Assembly Members, teachers and the media from the project districts - the Nadowli-Kaleo, Jirapa, Daffiama-Bussie-Issa and Wa West Districts - to the Affirmative Action and Gender Equity Act, 2024 (Act 1121).

AfCHURSD organised the workshop under the Girls and Women's Economic Empowerment, Livelihoods and Participation in Leadership (GWEEL) project in partnership with Equity, Opportunities and Development Fund (EODF) In Action.

The 12-month GWEEL project, funded by the Equal Opportunity Fund Ghana, Netherlands, was implemented in 20 communities in the four districts.

It is an inclusive and gender-responsive project that seeks to encourage women and girls to participate in leadership and promote their fundamental human rights including those with disability (WGD) particularly their economic, social, and cultural rights and protection from Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV).

"You need to identify capable women who will be interested in leading but will put up themselves for either political appointment, elections, and other roles, motivate and encourage them to go in for such roles", Madam Naah said.

She also encouraged women to develop themselves academically to acquire the rights and skills to compete with their male counterparts for leadership positions.
She observed that only eight women out of 165 people applied for the District Chief Executive positions in the region, which was not encouraging and urged more women to show interest in such roles.

Professor Robert Yennah, the Chairperson of EODF In Action, said his organisation sought to, among other things, empower women and girls to meaningfully contribute to the community and national development.

He urged women and girls to be confident and bold to lead and not to relinquish their rightful positions to men for any reason.

Madam Janet Kpan, the Upper West Regional Gender Officer at the Ghana Education Service, exposed the participants to leadership qualities girls and women needed to acquire.

"As a woman, you must be proactive, be supportive to get the backing of other women and you must be a problem solver as a leader”, she explained.

Madam Kpan also encouraged women and girls not to give up on their quest for leadership roles despite the challenges they faced in the process.

The participants developed action plans to champion the project's agenda in their communities.
Women Assembly Members and Assembly Member aspirants at the workshop shared their experiences contesting those positions.

Some of them alleged sabotage from the point of picking the nomination to contest in the 2023 district-level election, probably because they are females, which led to some of them losing the election.