Alhaji Mohammed-Muniru Limuna, the Northern Regional Minister, has said the government is concerned about the low representation of women in at the decision making level across the country.

He said in view of this, the government had prioritised women’s participation in key decision making levels by appointing women into leadership positions to demonstrate its commitment to reversing the situation.

Alhaji Limuna said this in a speech read on his behalf during the opening of the maiden edition of the Assembly Women’s Conference, organised by NORSAAC, and IBIS, non-governmental organisations, in Tamale, on Tuesday.

The two-day conference, which brought together all the 84 elected and appointed assembly women in the Northern Region, was to strengthen the solidarity amongst them through networking, motivation and capacity enhancement.

The Northern Region is noted for recording low numbers of women in decision making levels with the number of women elected as assembly members decreasing from 38 in 2006 to 21 in 2010 and to a low record of 18 in 2015.

Alhaji Limuna said the Government was also working to pass the Affirmative Action Bill to have women appointed to occupy key decision making positions.

He urged both public and private institutions to give opportunities to significant number of women to take up leadership roles.

He commended NORSAAC and IBIS for their persistency in educating women to take up leadership positions in local governance.

Madam Lena Alai, the Acting Director of the Department of Gender, Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, said issues that concerned the basic development of women were better expressed by women, hence the need to include them in decision making levels.

Madam Alai congratulated the women assembly members saying the terrain was not favourable to women in terms of winning elections.

Madam Hafsatu Sey Sumani, the Head of Programmes and Policy of NORSAAC, said: “There is the need to examine the current situation of exclusion and marginalisation of some groups like women from decision making levels, if we really want to develop as a region.”

Madam Memunatu Mahama, an Assembly Member of the Bole District, lauded NORSAAC for organising the conference, saying it had encouraged her to discharge her duties creditably.