Contributions of non-governmental organisations to women’s participation in local governance in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana

Abstract

In Ghana there are many legal documents and actions seeking to advance women’s participation in governance at the local and national levels. For instance, the Constitution of the country frowns on any discrimination against women. Ghana has also been a primary signatory and has ratified a number of conventions and declarations such as the current Sustainable Development Goals. Despite these efforts, women still lag behind men in terms of their numbers and level of participation especially in local governance. Recently, certain non-governmental organisations, including the Northern Sector Action on Awareness Centre, Campaign for Female Education and Action Aid Ghana, have taken the lead in the Tamale Metropolis to champion the course (financing, educating and training) of women in participating at the local level of the governance process. A cross-sectional observation of the target group of people was supplemented with questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussions as data collection tools. Data analysis was both qualitative and quantitative. The paper concludes that Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) contribution to the participation of women in local governance in the Tamale Metropolis. Recommendations included provision of a conducive environment and promotion of education and training for women.

Keywords: Participation, NGOs, Women, Governance, Politics