The Co-Founder and Executive Director of the International Women Empowerment Network (IWEN-Ghana), Celestina Andoh, has appealed to chiefs in Ada West to use their influence in society to promote girl-child education to place them in decision-making positions in the country.
She noted that traditional authorities, as partners in development, have a critical role to play in placing women in a better position in society to enable them to contribute their quota towards the socio-economic advancement of the nation.
In an interview, Ms Andoh said the notion by people that the place of a girl and a woman is the kitchen persists in some parts of the district.
She is therefore calling on the chiefs to help erase that line of thinking from the people’s minds, especially young girls.
“While the government is eager to provide all the facilities to enhance education in the district, we are appealing to our chiefs to continue to sensitise the people in their various communities to see the need to place a premium on the education of their children, especially the girls to the highest level,” she stressed.
She further observed that, the most significant legacy every parent could bequeath to their children is education because it is the gateway to a society of critical thinkers, developers and problem solvers.
Ms Andoh said, “I therefore urge parents in the district not to spend their money on funeral clothes at the expense of the education of the girl-child”.
She indicated that IWEN-Ghana, in collaboration with other stakeholders in the Ada West District, is working hard to achieve gender parity between boys and girls at the Basic and Secondary levels of education.
“As an organisation, we keep exploring every possible means to make education attractive to girls in the Ada West District.
However, we need the influence of our traditional leaders to boost parent’s interest to prioritise education, especially of their girls,” Ms Andoh stated.