Fifty queenmothers are to join the National House of Chiefs (NHC) as full-time members this year. The decision of the NHC implies that five queenmothers from each of the 10 regions would be eligible to take their seats in the House.

This has been welcomed as a major reform to end years of what many described as discrimination against women at the NHC. This also means that the membership of the NHC would increase from the current all-male 50 to 100.

It has also been decided that two queenmothers from each region would join their respective regional houses of chiefs as members.

The President of the National House of Chiefs, Wulugu Naba Pugansoa, Naa Prof. John S. Nabila, who disclosed this at the end-of-year meeting of the NHC in Kumasi, said the legal committee of the House had been tasked to work out the modalities for the admission of the queenmothers.

Many people have criticised the absence of queenmothers in the various houses of chiefs, and had persistently called for a reversal of the development since they saw it as discriminatory.

When he assumed leadership of the NHC about five years ago, Naa Prof. Nabila outlined a process to get the House to admit the queenmothers and at the meeting of the NHC, he seemed delighted that his dream had been realised.

Naa Prof. Nabila said during 2013, the house continued the implementation of reports from research into the succession of kings and added that 15 more stools were covered and their names had been forwarded to the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General for further action.

Already, research on 11 stools has been concluded and their implementation passed into law.

The Chieftaincy Minister, Dr Henry Seidu Danaa, who also addressed the house, commended the chiefs for their laudable role in the development of their traditional areas and the nation.