IWD: Napo charge pastors, traditional leaders to help curb gender-based violence

Minister for Education Matthew Opoku Prempeh has urged families, religious bodies and traditional leaders to contribute their quota to help sensitize the public in the bid to end gender-based violence.

He said “it is important to inculcate values such as respect and tolerance among children in our schools, and that is what the new curriculum for basic schools, which will be rolled out at the start of the 2019/2020 academic year seeks to do among others.

“But beyond the school environment, it is important that other stakeholders such as religious bodies, traditional leaders and the family network join hands to drive home the point that gender-based violence, or indeed violence of any kind, is unacceptable in the human, kid ad compassionate society that we ought to strive to build.”

The minister made this call at the 2019 International Women’s Day Celebration which was on the theme “Empowering the youth to advocate against gender-based violence,” in Accra organized in collaboration with the Women Peace and Security Institute, GIZ and the West African Network for Peacebuilding.

He added “I heard that The KAIPTC has launched its 5-year Strategic Plan (2019-202) and one of its focus is to build capacity to ensure the full implementation of all protocols relating to women peace and security agenda.

“I am equally pleased to learn that the GIZ’s new gender strategy (2019-2021) enables the organization to continue to be a reliable partner and an attractive employee through the implementation of the gender equality plan and the women’s empowerment principles.”
He added “these two initiatives are very commendable, and I applaud the two respective institutions for taking on these responsibilities in their desire to equip women with the capacity t control their own bodies in dealing with domestic violence, and sexually suggestive predatory advances.”



AVM Evans Griffiths Santrofi, Commandant KAIPTC said “by the end of this celebration, what we hope to achieve is that you should be able to know the fundamentals regarding how to address issues of gender-based violence and also how you the students and the youth can protect yourself against potential threat. And more importantly for you to know the relevant institutions that you have to go to seek redress when you are faced with gender based violence.”

He added: “at the end of the whole thing we hope to achieve our aim or the theme that we have used that is we should be able to empower you the youth to become advocates against gender-based violence. We cannot build a future for you, but what we can do for you is to build you to be able to move into the future confidently.”

Schools that were represented at the event included the Ashiaman Secondary School, Nungua Secondary School, Teshie Technical, St. John Teshie, Airforces SHS, Nima cluster of Schools, Chemu Senior High School, Bostal Institute, Junior Girls Correctional Institute, and Presby SHS Teshie.

Source:Starrfm.com.gh