In the lead-up to the general elections set to take place later this year on December 7, many political parties are coming up with various manifestoes detailing numerous projects and policies which they intend to implement should they be elected into public office.

Some of these policies may include those that are relevant to the availability of quality healthcare and education, strengthening the economy, female empowerment, among a host of others. 

Plan International Ghana, an organisation that seeks to advance the cause of children, girls, and young women, have taken on the mandate to ensure equality by launching an initiative called the ‘She Leads Project’, in tandem with the fifth SDG, which is to attain gender equality and to empower women and girls.

They seek to achieve this through various means, including organising workshops and programmes to empower girls to take on activism and leadership roles, providing mentorship programs, as well as engaging political parties in the country to adopt more specific policies targeted at empowering young women and girls.

Speaking in an interview on Joy Learning TV’s EduNews InFocus programme, the Project Manager of the She Leads Project, Anna Nabere, shed some light on the initiative.

“The She Leads Project is a five-year project funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is a programme that has been designed to give voice to young women and girls and to promote their activism through increased acceptance of positive gender norms and through meaningful participation of young women and girls in decision-making and leadership at all levels”, she said.

The She Leads Project aims to provide young women and girls the opportunity to actively participate in decision-making and leadership roles.

Madam Nabere asserted that this initiative is nationwide, and has been strategically designed to cut across various regions and zones in the country. The She Leads Consortium has several partnerships with which they operate in the various regions.

She cited some of the partners substantively supporting the project as Plan International Ghana, Defense for Children International Ghana and their partners (Ashanti Region), Songtaba (North East region), Community Aid and Rural Development (Upper West region), the Hope for Future Generation (Volta region), and the Women Aspire Network (Central region).

In the interview, Madam Nabere underscored the importance of empowering young girls to embark on various forms of activism through the She Leads Project. The principal goal of the initiative is to support young girls to strongly advocate for issues pertaining to their general well-being.

In one of their programmes, she applauded some of the young girls for being bold enough to come up with policy proposals which they had submitted to the two major political parties in the country, so that they may be included in their manifestoes in this election year.

“The girls were bold enough to say that, look, election is drawing near. We know that political leaders, they normally include general issues in their manifestoes, but can they be a bit more specific in relation to issues that are of relevance to girls?

"So these girls have come up with a host of policy proposals, including issues pertaining to unemployment, education, healthcare, and leadership; which they have submitted to both the NPP and the NDC so they can be included in their respective manifestoes,” she added.

An advocates of the She Leads Project, Patience Entsie shared her suggestions for the policy proposals that could be adopted by political parties.

“We want political parties to include proposed activities that seek to enhance the involvement of more girls in STEM education in their manifestoes. We all know that in this day and age, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education is the new normal.

"I mean, we all take pride in seeing girls out there doing well in the National Science and Math Quiz (NSMQ) competition. In as much as STEM education is given considerable attention in Ghana today, there is more room for improvement, especially regarding female participation in STEM education.

"It is why we are imploring both the political parties and the government to adopt more specific policies deliberately targeted at enhancing female participation in STEM education,” she stated.

Another advocate for the project, Awontemi Wepeh Akwolaga, also shared some policy proposals which political parties could adopt in their manifestoes. She cited the exorbitant costs of sanitary products as one of the challenges impeding the well-being of girls in the country.

“Overpricing sanitary products is very disheartening. Even for me in Accra, it’s so expensive for me to get a sanitary pad every month, and so you can imagine the girls in the village.

"Let’s not even go far. Even in Accra here, the capital city of Ghana, there are still people who can’t even afford it. How can you place a luxury tax on an item that is not a luxury product? It’s like saying toilet paper is a luxury,” she lamented.

She therefore entreated the government to eliminate the luxury tax placed on sanitary products, and beseeched all political parties to include in their manifestoes targeted policies that address the exorbitant costs of sanitary products, while concurrently introducing the concept of reusable pads and pad banks in all senior high schools.

It is through the She Leads Project that these young girls have undergone substantive training and have therefore evolved into confident and discerning individuals capable of taking on various leadership roles and overcoming numerous challenges.