The Navrongo Traditional Council in the Upper East Region has pledged to collaborate with Our Lady of Mercy Community Services (OLAM), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), to help promote gender equality and women empowerment.

The Traditional Council said any nation that undermined the role of women in development was bound to fail in that agenda.

Mr Arthur Wekem Balinia Addah, the Regent of the Navrongo Skin, made the pledge on behalf of the Traditional Council as part of this year’s International Women’s Day, organised in Navrongo by the NGO with support from STAR-Ghana and Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA ).

“As a Traditional Council we recognise and appreciate the fact that men are born by women and we wonder why society should marginalise women. Women play a major role in the socio-economic development of the nation and any nation that undermines the efforts of women towards development is bound to fail,” the Regent said.

He said as part of its contributions towards empowering women, the Traditional Council had abolished negative cultural practices such as female genital mutilation, widowhood rites and child marriages.

Whilst commending OLAM for its efforts in advocating against negative cultural practices that hinder the development of women and girls, the Regent gave the assurance that the Traditional Council would continue to support the NGO to eliminate those practices.

The Kaana Manga Women Association, the women’s wing of the NGO, embarked on a route march in the Municipality and held radio discussions as part of activities to commemorate the Day.

They later converged at the premises of the Kassena-Nankana Municipal Assembly, where they handed over a communiqué to the leadership of the Assembly.

The key issues raised in the communiqué included the low representation of women in decision-making processes, negative cultural practices affecting women and the need to quicken the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill.

Mrs Victoria Asuliwono, the President of the Association, who presented the Communiqué to the Assembly, said the Kassena-Nankana Municipality had only one elected assemblywoman and three appointees.

She said that did not augur well for development and called for support of women to stand for elections and be voted for to gender parity.

Abubakari Inusah, the Municipal Coordinating Director, who received the Communiqué, pledged to forward it to the appropriate authorities for redress.

Mr Emmanuel Atiiga, the Project Director of OLAM, thanked STAR-Ghana and OSIWA for sponsoring the event and pledged the NGO’s continuous support to more women to realize their dreams of empowerment.