Politics of Thursday, 26 February 2015

Source: GNA

Vote for women in district assembly elections - Candidate

An aspiring assembly member for the Adweso estate electoral area, Doreen Wepare Issaka, has called on Ghanaians to change the face of democracy by voting for women in the upcoming district assembly elections.

She said “Ghana’s politics had been dominated by men for far too long and it was high time women were given the chance,” adding that, it should start from the district assemblies to ensure a balanced representation of both sexes in decision making.

Ms Issaka, who made the call in an interview with GNA, under the Women Profile project, noted that if more women were voted to the assemblies it would provide avenues for increased female parliamentarians.

She explained that, if all the women contesting at the district level elections were given the nod, they would use the platform to contest for parliamentary seats whiles other women would also be encouraged by their achievement to offer themselves up for leadership positions.

Ms Issaka, a tutor at Koforidua Secondary Technical, and the only female Tutor at the Technical department, is battling four men for the Adweso seat and is optimistic of winning.

According to her, the area had always been represented by men, yet was bedeviled with challenges and believes that a woman could better articulate their problems for redress than a man since women suffer the most in times of crisis.

The aspirant told GNA that, having been a student leader at the University, with heavy male dominance and the only female technical tutor at Koforidua Sec-Tech, ‘I am used to the terrain of men and so am not moved by the presence of four men contesting with me’ she retorted.

She however called for support for women who had the interest of taking up leadership positions to give them some leverage with the men who have all the resources and logistics to embark on tedious campaigns.