Tema, July 10, GNA - Ms Christine Churcher, Minister of State in Charge of Primary, Secondary and Girl Child Education has urged men not to consider the empowerment of women as an attempt to usurp their power and authority.

Women, she said were being empowered to enable them to come to the limelight so that they could contribute their quota effectively to nation building.

This was contained in a speech read for her at the eighth graduation of the Global Training Institute of Fashion Designing/Catering School at Tema at which 12 students graduated after a three-year training course.

"What can be more refreshing for a man to have an economically empowered woman as a wife, one who can support the upkeep of the house when things are not going well for the couple."

She said: "We have come to a point in our developmental process where the role that women play in the social, political and economic development cannot be underestimated."

For a very long time women's contributions towards the development and improvement in our communities had not been given the needed recognition because they did not have the voice to make themselves heard, Ms Churcher said.

She blamed this trend on the societal restriction of women's activities to certain areas of endeavour and discrimination against girls in education in favour of boys.

Women's empowerment, she said would, however not be achieved easily and charged young women to set goals to themselves and strive to achieve these goals adding, "a young woman's influence transcends the family level to the community."

Mrs Betty Tagoe, Head of the Institute said she started the school with three students in her home and had since turned out 120 students in dressmaking, catering and decoration. Deserving students were presented with prizes.