Accra, May 13, GNA - Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Former First Lady and National President of the 31st December Women's Movement (DWM) on Tuesday said women were the fulcrum of development and must be accordingly empowered. This was contained in a goodwill message signed by Mrs Agyeman Rawlings on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the 31st DWM to its members.

She said due to the resolve of 31st DWM to empower women using the multi-sectoral approach, women today were at all levels of economic, social, political and cultural areas in the country.

"Our programmes and activities have created a new level of awareness in women which has resulted in the desire for every woman to aspire politically and economically or socially proactive", she added. She said on the occasion of the 26th anniversary of the 31st DWM, "I wish to encourage all our members to unite and continue the forward march in the empowerment programme".

She advised members of the movement "not to loose focus but rather be united in body and mind, strengthened by the aims and objectives we set as our goal and move together in unison towards the total empowerment and advancement of women for our individual and national development."

Nana Konadu said the 31st DWM was formed by a group of women in 1982 at the time when the World Bank and International Monitory Fund (IMF) had referred to the country as a collapsed state. That was the time when the nation's economic, political activities and social infrastructure were hardly in existence.

She said members of the group mobilized women throughout the country and by multi-faceted objectives, with the "daily pain of our family existence, we broke the myth surrounding politics as being the preserve of men", and encouraged all women to be part of the new era of decision making. According to her, they wanted to effect a genuine change in the lives of women using the four pointers declared by the United Nations that every country should develop her women politically, socially, economically and culturally.