Elected women assembly members have been advised to work hard to rise above their current positions and aim at winning seats at the Parliamentary and other high decision-making levels in the country.

Yoo-Naa Yakubu Abdulai Andani, Paramount Chief of the Savelugu Traditional Area, who gave the advice, said, this would help increase women’s representation at decision-making levels in the country for rapid development.

Yoo-Naa Abdulai Andani gave the advice when officials of RUWA Ghana, an NGO, led three elected women assembly members, to pay a courtesy call on him at his palace at Savelugu to thank him for his support for the “Enhancing Women’s Participation in District Assembly Elections” project.

The 18-month project, which will end in August, is being implemented by RUWA Ghana with support from the Open Society Initiative for West Africa, and it has received great support from the Paramount Chief of Savelugu, which has led to its success, hence the call on him to express gratitude to him.

The project empowered women to contest in the December 2019 district assembly elections at Yendi, Tamale, Sagnarigu, and Savelugu to increase women's representation in decision-making levels in the country.

As part of the project, three out of the 19 women, who contested the elections in those assemblies, won their bids and are now representing their electoral areas.

The women, who had won the elections, are Madam Mariam Alhassan, Gbumgbum Electoral Area in the Nanton District, Madam Nzara Salifu, Guntingli Electoral Area in the Yendi Municipality and Madam Bibiana Wumpini, Malshegu Electoral Area in the Sagnarigu Municipality.

Yoo-Naa Abdulai Andani decried the low level of women’s representation at the various decision-making levels in the country and advised the elected women assembly members to work hard to demonstrate that women were capable of effectively representing their people at decision-making levels.

Mr Masud Aziz Rauf, Executive Director of RUWA Ghana appealed to the government to support initiatives to get more women elected into decision-making levels in the country saying “when women are in leadership positions, there will be equitable distribution of resources” to address challenges of communities.

Madam Alhassan spoke about her experiences at the assembly and said she had begun initiatives such as organising extra classes for pupils, forming girls’ clubs amongst others to improve on education in the area.

Meanwhile, officials of RUWA Ghana and the three elected women assembly members further paid courtesy calls on the Sagnarigu and Dakpema palaces at Sagnarigu and Tamale respectively to express gratitude to the Chiefs for their support for the project.

They are expected to extend similar appreciation to the Chief of Guntingli in the Yendi Municipality.