Last week in Kumasi, Ghana, Country Director for The Hunger Project-Ghana, Dr. Naana Agyemang-Mensah, facilitated a workshop for Ghanaian journalists designed to promote women’s participation in local and national politics.
More than 20 journalists representing 14 national media outlets attended the workshop as a part of THP-Ghana’s “We Know Politics Project.” The project aims to sensitize journalists to gender issues, common terminology, the role of gender inequality in politics and the power of the media to bring a voice and change to these issues.
Dr. Naana called for a concerted effort to tackle the under-representation of women in politics, citing Ghana’s parliamentary and assemblies, of which only 10 percent of representatives are women. Women in political positions are adamant in the fight for women’s rights and work to protect the best interests of future generations. Because of this, Dr. Naana appealed to the journalists to use media to rally the nation to combat socio-economic, cultural and religious practices that marginalize women and keep them from taking part in government.
Workshop topics included: "How reporting can maintain gender sensitivity,""How the media can support the political campaigns of women," and "How the media can promote peaceful elections." This last topic was addressed by a guest speaker from the National Commission for Civic Education, Mr. Alhassan Yakubu (pictured).
Other partners and sponsors of the workshop included the Department for International Development, Federation of International Women Lawyers, the European Union, United States Agency for International Development, WiLDAF, Womenkind Worldwide, and Gender Centre.
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