A forum to mark this year's International Women's Day at Sege in the Ada West District of the Greater Accra region has reiterated the urgent need for the government to prioritise women's needs and perspectives.

The forum, organised by Indigenous Women Empowerment Network (IWEN-Ghana), also urged the government to encourage a more balanced representation of women in decision-making at all levels.

It further stated that the low representation of women in parliament and other levels of decision-making has not created the needed platform for women to articulate their views on issues affecting them.

They argued that the tide could only change if young women would identify and develop their areas of competence, develop their leadership potential, and actively participate in leadership activities while in school.

Stakeholders at the forum asked Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) to institutionalise gender planning and budgeting to sustain initiatives for women.

The Co-Founder and Executive Secretary of IWEN-Ghana, Celestine Andoh, in a remark, stated the 2000 World's Population Monitoring Report indicated that sex was the price expected to be paid by millions of women across the world for many life opportunities. 

The report, she indicated, mentioned that the opportunities range from gaining admission to overcrowded classrooms to passing examinations and securing employment.

Ms Andoh advised women to learn to be assertive while taking advantage of opportunities available to them to develop their academic potentials.

She further encouraged women, especially female students, not to compromise their integrity for short-term favours.

“We must set achievable goals at each stage of our lives and strive to excel in the various professions,” she noted.

She observed that "when these problems get fixed, we could talk about women's empowerment and equipping women with skills for national development".

Ms Andoh stressed that empowerment is not something to be taken for granted, but a person needs to aspire to attain the level of empowerment they desire.

She called on the government to stimulate coordination and exchange of information between private and public sector organisations and strengthen institutions that foster learning processes, innovation and access to technology for women.