1. Objectives
1.1. To address the problem of low women representation in local governance (Unit Committees and Local Assembly memberships) in the Jirapa District by raising public awareness with a view to the upcoming elections in October/November 2014.
1.2. To mobilize and empower woman for participation in local governance, thus making the political system more balanced and inclusive in the long run.
1.3. To help the Jirapa community to actively identify and address obstacles for female participation in politics, ranging from missing education and intra-household power relation to political culture and regulations.
2. Target group
- Women holding the right to stand for local elections (primary)
- Traditional authorities
- Members of the Jirapa District Assembly and the District Government
3. Key activities
3.1. Mobilizing 50 women to participate in the project/elections and conducting quantitative surveys
Under this activity, the Ghanaian partner will identify women within community based groups, who are interested in running for mandate and in participating in the training workshop. The hallmark of this activity is to educate women to run for mandate in the Unit committee and Local Assembly elections in October/November 2014. This would provide them with the opportunity to make their inputs during the decision-making process leading to the district development plan. The participants will also adopt the peer-to-peer sensitization of fellow women at the community level.
The project team of GHANECare will also undertake a special research survey to collect data on opinions about the low participation of women. The target for the survey will be both women and men. ALD will support the compilation of the questionnaire as well as the analysis of the gathered data with quantitative methods and software (SPSS) by GHANEecare. The main purpose of the research is to identify factors that hinder female engagement and to interpret the findings in connection to existing reseach. The local data will then be used to tailor the content of the measures described below as well as to sensitise the public and especially local stakeholders on the low participation of women in local governance in general. This activity will also help both the Ghanaian and German CSAs to understand the issues and prepare to scale up the project to other districts and regions if possible.
3.2. Implementing three capacity building workshops for 50 women
The objective of capacity building for future female leaders will be implemented in form of 3 workshops that bring together the 50 women mobilized before. Some of the topics to be treated in the workshop include: leadership and mentorship, the effect of cultural diversity, Civic Rights, Information on Local governance and politics, lobbying skills. Additionally, this activity will enhance skills of women for effective deliberation and decision-making. The participants will also be taken through the role of the general assembly.
3.3. Facilitating a multi-stakeholders dialogue in Jirapa (70 participants)
At the end of the project, a multi-stakeholders dialogue meeting will be held with women, traditional authorities, opinion leaders, District Assembly and Jirapa Government officials forming a group of 70 stakeholders. Discussions on the topic will help the participants to recognize the need to support the political participation of women in Jirapa as well as to create content for a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The idea of spreading awareness and information through stakeholders, that also act as multipliers, will be accompanied by the conduction of three radio transmissions on the issue of woman participation in local politics.
