Kumasi, Sept 11, GNA - Mrs Gladys Asmah, the Minister in charge of Fisheries, has stressed the need to empower women to develop and utilize their God given talents. She said Ghanaian women had been endowed with huge socio-economic potentials that needed to be tapped for the benefit of society. Mrs Asmah was speaking at the first national convention of the Ghana Anglican Women's Ministry in Kumasi on Saturday. The four-day convention is under the theme "church without walls, the role of women".

Mrs Asmah said the government recognized the crucial role women played in the transformation of the country and had initiated some measures that could help women identify their potentials and make good use of them.

She said the time had come for women to assert themselves and take up the mantle of leadership in society. Mrs Asmah commended Anglican women for coming together and suggested to them to establish vocational schools to equip young women with employable skills. Rt Rev Daniel Yinkah Sarfo, Presiding Bishop of the Joint Anglican Diocesan Council who represented the Bishop of the Province of West Africa, said the coming together of all women groups in the church to form a ministry indicated the desire of women in the church to take up greater responsibilities in the affairs of the church. He stressed the need to encourage women to pursue education at all levels to ensure their empowerment and the full development of their potential to enable them contribute to the growth and development of society.

Miss Adelaide Amy Amoako, National President of the Anglican Women Ministry, said the convention was to bring the various women groups in the church together and rekindle their spirit in the service of God. She advised the members to ensure unity of women in the church to promote the growth of the church.