Women in the Kadjebi District of the Volta Region have staged a peaceful demonstration to draw attention to acts of domestic violence in the district. The demonstrators, who came from Kadjebi, Papase, Dodo Amanfrom, Asato and Poase Cement, carried placards, some of which read, "Do not beat your wife", "Domestic violence can lead to HIV/AIDS", "Husbands, your wives are not your enemies", etc. The event formed part of a sensitisation programme on how to eliminate domestic violence organised by PROLINK, a non-governmental organisation. The Kadjebi District Co-ordinator of PROLINK, Mr Mawusi Tsaku, who opened the workshop, said development would not be complete, if any gender group was left behind in decision making and called on men in particular to see women as their partners and support them in their endeavours. He said women faced a lot of challenges in their lives and mentioned some of them as difficulty in resource mobilisation and socio-cultural and religious beliefs that were sometimes used negatively by their male counterparts against them and called on men to reverse the trend. My Tsaku, on behalf of the women, later presented a petition to the Kadjebi District Chief Executive, Mr Seth Alifui. The five-point petition called for broad-based community participation on gender-based issues and the implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action at the district level. It also appealed to the assembly to register all people living with HIV/AIDS and orphans under the National Health Insurance Scheme and also assist people living with HIV/AIDS to access their drugs. Receiving the petition, Mr Alifui lamented that most women were maltreated by their husbands and men due to the men's desire to wield power. He was sure that men would shy away from manhandling women who were assertive or able to stand on their own feet, without looking up to the men to cater for them. He informed the women that very soon the MASLOC credit scheme would be available and asked them to form proper groups to access it. Source: Daily Graphic