By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Kumasi, Dec. 18, GNA – The National Peace Council (NPC) has trained its staff and Council members on gender mainstreaming in peace building at a workshop held in Kumasi.
The two-day workshop, attended by stakeholders from all the regions across the country, sought to, among other things, strengthen the skills of participants in the development and implementation of gender-sensitive programmes in peace building.
Funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the training was also expected to enhance the understanding of participants on key issues, policies and principles relevant to gender and peace-building.
Ms. Jenifer Asuako, the Programme Analyst on Gender Issues of UNDP, said conflict impacted both the males and females differently, thus, it was important for those involved in its resolution and peace-building to acquire a better understanding of the gender dimension of the conflict.
“It is very important not to only look at men as those who perpetrate conflict but also look at the roles that females play in any conflict situation,” she said.
She said women were often seen as victims of conflicts and disclosed that the UNDP recently supported a research conducted by the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD), which showed that women could be active participants in conflicts.
She cited a report, which said some women verbally assaulted political opponents of their parties and this could potentially spark violence.
“So it is important that people who promote peace and do conflict analyses understand that both the male and female have distinct roles to play”, she said.
Reverend Emmanuel Badu Amoah, the Ashanti Regional Executive Secretary of the NPC, called for gender equity during conflict resolution and peace-building as conflicts affected not only those who were actively involved.
He said despite the fact that conflict largely affected women and children, it was disheartening that they were not involved in the peace-building processes because there was no level playing field for both sexes.
“Women have always and continue to be marginalised at peace negotiation tables, hence there must be conscious effort to rectify the anomaly. In essence, we need to incorporate gender in all areas of human development,” he stated.
GNA
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