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Counsellor Yvette Chesson-Wareh
Counsellor Yvette Chesson-Wareh

‘Women’s role relevant in violence-free elections’

Ghanaian women have been encouraged to play meaningful roles in ensuring violence-free elections before, during and after the December 7 polls.

According to the Initiator of the Women’s Situation Room (WSR) concept, Counsellor Yvette Chesson-Wareh, that could be achieved when Ghanaian women assumed active roles in electoral processes.

The WSR is an early warning and rapid response mechanism against violence arising before, during and after elections.

The WSR initiative has been adopted by the African Union’s Gender is My Agenda Campaign (GIMAC), as a best practice, with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia as its champion.

Under the WSR concept, some women have been trained as observers who would be deployed across the regions and districts of Ghana before and during the elections.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic in Accra, Counsellor Chesson-Wareh said women tended to be the most vulnerable victims in war and conflict situations, as well as those who often triggered peace mechanisms.

Peaceful elections

She, therefore, urged Ghanaian women to be at the forefront of ensuring the attainment of peaceful elections through effective involvement in the electoral process, and active participation in massive educational campaign and awareness creation.

Citing Liberia as an example, she said in past elections, Liberian women and youth played only marginal roles serving mostly as cheerleaders or supporters of big politicians, with the youth serving as paid thugs to attack political opponents during elections.

She, however, said in the 2011 elections, women collaborated with the youth to actively participate in the process to ensure that not only did Liberia have a peaceful, free and fair elections, but that the women and youth played more meaningful roles in the process than before.

That, she said, was achieved through the Women’s Situation Room (WSR) concept which was initiated by the Angie Brooks International Centre (ABIC) during the election period.

She said the WSR would be replicated at the various districts to include women and the youth at those levels who would hold stakeholder meetings at the district level.

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