CARD Ghana champions girls’ leadership at Nakori-Chansa Electoral Area

Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD Ghana) held a dialogue session with the Assembly Member and Unit Committee Members of the Nakori-Chansa Electoral Area in the Wa Municipal to further the cause of girls’ leadership in the area.

The event, held over the weekend at the Chansa community, highlighted the urgent need to create spaces and opportunities for young girls to thrive as leaders, both in formal and informal settings. 

The engagement formed part of the She Leads project, which is being implemented by CARD Ghana in partnership with Plan International Ghana. The project aims to empower girls and young women to rise above systemic barriers and take on leadership roles.

Chansa is one of five communities in the Wa Municipality—Chegli, Kperisi, Nyagli, Sagu—benefiting from the She Leads project, which is focused on advancing girls' leadership within the community.

Speaking at the forum, the Acting Executive Director of CARD Ghana, Ms Ernestina Biney, emphasized the urgent need for girls and young women to be given merited opportunities to identify and develop their potential without any hindrances.

She said it was therefore important for community leaders to make concerted and intentional efforts at building the capacities of girls and motivating them to take up leadership roles within their communities and every human space they find themselves.

“We are not just preparing girls for leadership today, we want to build a future where communities are strengthened by the active participation of women and girls in decision-making processes,” she said.

Ms Biney said the Unit Committee plays a pivotal role at the local government level within the communities and that their perspectives and buy-in would help further the cause of girls and women’s leadership.

“The Unit Committee, apart from the traditional and religious leaders, is another decision-making body [and] that engaging them will also help supporting girls in leadership and decision-making and they will also be able to put in some measures to curb some of the barriers limiting girls and women,” she noted.

Mr Alhassan Abakpon Faali, Human Resource Manager for CARD Ghana, said the engagement with the Assembly Member and Unit Committee Members was a deliberate move to foster close collaboration with the local governance arm, for sustained advocacy and action towards female leadership and participation in decision-making.

One of the Unit Committee Members, Mr. Abubakar Naa Musah expressed optimism that the She Leads project would help build the next generation of powerful and confident female leaders for the community.

“This project is especially important because it will help our young girls to become confident in speaking in public and taking up leadership roles. We have started talking to them and training them,” he said.

Sharing their commitment towards the project objective, the Assembly Member for the Nakori-Chansa Electoral Area, Mr. Mathew Yussif said the Electoral Area will make conscious efforts to eliminate the barriers to female leadership.

Amongst the measures, he said they will encourage girl-child education, promote reproductive health rights and education, mentor girls in leadership and enhance opportunities for capacity-building for females in the area.