Mr. Haruna Baba Dogah, a peace research fellow at the SDD University of Business and Integrated Development Studies (UBIDS), has admonished girls and young women to clear goals before entering into the space of politics.
He said that young women should be clear in their minds about what they desire before venturing into the space of politics lest they are swayed off trajectory and become worthless in the space.
Mr. Baba gave the admonition during a leadership empowerment workshop organized by the Upper West Regional chapter of the She Leads Social Movement as part of initiatives toward achieving the strategic goals of the She Leads Campaign.
The She Leads Campaign seeks to increase the sustained influence of girls and young women on decision-making and transform gender norms in formal and informal institutions and it is being implemented in the Upper West Region by Community Aid for Rural Development (CARD Ghana) with support from Plan International Ghana.
Mr. Baba, who was also a teacher at the Wa Senior High School, said young women should develop an interest in politics if they were to actively participate in decision-making but that it should be done carefully and deliberately.
“I am not saying under any circumstances that you should not engage in politics; if you don’t go there, then who should lead?
“We are encouraging leadership and you cannot be a leader without involving in politics, but if you want to go into politics, you must set a target, you must know what you want,” he said.
He added that following the setting of targets, young women should define a roadmap on how to reach the set target and work diligently along the path.
“Because if you want to go to a place [and] you don’t know where you are going, you will never get there; and if you know there and you don’t know how to get there, you also never get there,” Mr. Baba admonished.
Mr. Walliu Yahaya, the Assembly Member for Kperisi Electoral Area who spoke on the subject of political literacy, said political literacy has the potential to increase citizens’ participation in decision-making processes and political discourses for the advancement of society.
He noted that knowledge of political literacy helps in socializing people, especially young members of society to the values that the government of the day deems appropriate for the citizenry.
He added that politics was important to help disabuse the minds of people who think politicians are crooks and to help them exhibit thoughtful political choices and opinions as well as knowledge of their rights, state institutions, hierarchies, and processes.
The workshop, according to the President of the She Leads Social Movement, Ms. Felicia Baganiah, was in furtherance of the Movement’s campaigns towards bridging inequality gaps and increasing the participation of girls and young women in decision-making spheres.
