Member of Parliament MP) for the Mfantseman Constituency, Ophelia Mensah Hayford has reiterated the need for women to be acknowledged within the society to play vital roles in governance.

Speaking to agn news at the just ended 145th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda the legislator believes, the IPU in partnership with national parliaments are working hard to push forward gender equality for a responsive legislation around the world.

“I was part of Ghana’s delegation to the 145th IPU Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda and the team from Ghana were eight (8) – 4 male and 4 female which shows that they are indeed walking the talk” she said.

According to her, the theme for this year’s Assembly was a good one, and has commended the organizers for the bold step and decision in the right direction.

“This year’s theme “Gender equality and gender-sensitive parliaments as drivers of change for a more resilient and peaceful world” is a peculiar one and the organizers couldn’t have chosen any other theme better than this. I think looking at how far we have come, women have been relegated for long and this is the time for us to push to the forefront to participate in the building of our country” she stressed.

“This is the time we are advocating for gender parity. We play a very vital role in governance. Starting even from home, women play a vibrant role in raising the children and ensuring the sanity in the home. We are advocating and then we know that what men can do women can do better. We compliment the men. And we sometimes even bring out issues that men do not even think of. We advocate for peace and wherever women are, there is peace. We have been facing so much challenges and I think it’s time for women voices to be heard” she aded.

The IPU is an international organization of national Parliaments and its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance, accountability, and cooperation among its members. The union’s other initiatives, includes advancing gender parity among legislatures, empowering youth participation in politics, and sustainable development.

Source: aritaglobe.com