The Progressive Excellence Youth Organization, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has said women were change-agents and must be empowered to function effectively.

It said Women were highly capable to turn society around for the better and that was evident in the key role they played in respective to caring for their families in addition to their jobs and other roles.

Mr Emmanuel Cornelius Ampong, the Finance Officer of the PEYORG on behalf of the organization, stressed the need for women and girls to be allowed to take an active part in leadership and governance to aid National Development.

He was speaking at a stakeholders’ consultative meeting where he announced that a project dubbed ‘Voices in Leadership’ put together by the Plan International-Ghana, an NGO, with focus on Gender and social Protection was being implemented by PEYORG with funding from the Canadian Government.

The WVL project is seeking to increase equality among women for them to have access and control resources in the non-formal sector by 30 per cent by the year 2022.

He increased gender roles and responsibilities in the Central Region by 25 per cent through advocacy and capacity building by the same year.

He said the focus of the five-year Project were adolescent boys and girls, community leaders, Queen Mothers and the general populace.

It is expected to end in 2025 and had Project to cover more than 120 community leaders, 17,000 Women, 15,000 boys and girls, 25 Queen Mothers, 200 parents and teachers and 20,000 people.

Speaking about why women were mostly the target, Mr James Otchere, the Programmes Officer, said instead of exploiting women for personal gains, they must be encouraged to break loose of their shells and excel.

He charged men to help women rise and shine in their respective corners, create an enabling world for women and stop all forms of Gender-based Violence (GBV) against them.

“Women are not weaker vessels, lets together, clear these stereotypes, let's create a proud society for ourselves and a better future for generations yet unborn where women have an equal take,” he said.

For his part, Mr Godfred Nyarko, Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abbrem (KEEA), the Social Welfare Officer, said encouraging critical awareness among men, boys, girls and women about gender roles, norms and stereotypes was a good gender transformative approach.

He encouraged stakeholders to monitor the wrongs against women and to report them to the appropriate authorities.

Nana Amba Eyiaba I, the Queen Mother of Efutu and Krontihemaa of Oguaa Traditional Area, urged the public to be advocates for women’s rights and protection.