prioritize the enskinment of queenmothers in Northern Ghana-Chiefs urged

26-05-2011

The Upper East Director of the National Commission for Civic Education, Peter Mensah has said it is appropriate for the chieftaincy institution to admit queenmothers into the various administrative structures including traditional councils and regional and National house of chiefs. This, he said, will help to complement the role of Chiefs in operating the institutions at these levels. This he said is in tune with Article 277 of the Constitution which places both chiefs and queenmothers in the same status of recognition. The Regional Director of the NCCE however noted that the Northern, Upper East and West Regions might not have queenmothers representation in the various Chieftaincy institutions even if the idea is accepted because not all traditional areas have adopted the queenmother idea. Mr. Peter Mensah was speaking at an advocacy meeting with traditional rulers from selected traditional areas across the Upper East Region. Women in the Northern, Upper East and West Regions despite being equally endowed with natural talents and abilities as their male counterparts for some time now have not been given the opportunity to prove their capabilities in most areas of development. Even though women constitutes over 51 percent of the country’s population coupled with the fact that their endowments are needed to complement those of men to produce balance development of society, there were least spoken off in the Northern sector. Culture has been noted as one of the main reasons contributing to their inability to be seen in the spot light. However the universal adoption and institutionalization of the queenmother dimension of chieftaincy in the three regions of the Northern sector was a welcome development for women because it was expected to be a stepping stone for women involvement in decision making. Even though widely accepted in the northern sector, some traditional areas in the Upper East Region are failing to accept and encourage the institution by according it legitimacy and recognition, hence their failure to enskinned queenmothers in their various areas of jurisdiction. The Paramount Chief of the Bongo Traditional area, Naba Salifu Alemyarum in an interview with Radio Ghana explained that the Chieftaincy institution in the Upper East Region is weighing the implication of this new development on the lives of the people. Naba Alemyarum said even though some traditional areas like Bongo and Bawku have enskined queenmothers, the cultural landscape in the region is undergoing a transformation which needs not to be rushed. He therefore challenged the few queenmothers who have been enskined to let their contributions manifest in society. This, he said, will help to fast track the implementation of the idea in some traditional areas. Touching on the theme: Transforming the Chieftaincy Institution in the North- the Queenmother Dimension”, Mr. Mensah indicated that women’s legitimate representation on the chieftaincy structure as a form of affirmative action can be a critical mechanism for effective and more progressive traditional governance. He therefore called for the formal institutionalization of queenmothership within the chieftaincy tradition in the Northern sector.