ActionAid Ghana, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, led members of the Young Female Platforms to hold the 2025 Regional Girls Conference.
Held under the theme: “Bold voices, equal spaces: ‘Empowering Girls for Transformative Leadership”, the conference serves as a platform for young girls to be modelled by women, who are playing important roles in society.
The Young Female Platforms (YFP) was started by ActionAid Ghana in 2009 and introduced in the Upper East Region in 2019.
The platform currently operates in 9 schools, including 2 communities of Persons with Disabilities in the region.
Using the mentoring and modeling approaches, the Young Female Platforms serves as a platform for young girls in Senior High Schools to deliberate on various developmental and governance issues largely affecting women.
It allows them to advocate for change, make informed choices, and be heard.
Speaking during the conference, the Upper East Regional Programmes Manager of ActionAid Ghana, Yakubu Akuka explained that societies in many parts of Africa and Ghana continue to face numerous barriers that limit the potential of women and children.
Some of these obstacles include gender violence, child marriage and limited access to education, and economic hardship.
He considered these as systemic injustices that require urgent attention.
“Across many societies in Africa and Ghana, for that matter, especially those facing social and economic challenges, women and young girls continue to encounter numerous barriers that limit their potential. These obstacles—such as gender-based violence and biases, child marriage, limited access to education, and economic hardship—are not merely unfortunate circumstances; they are systemic injustices that demand urgent attention and action.” He lamented
Mr. Akuka said ActionAid, through the platforms, seeks to groom young girls to achieve greater heights.
“Using mentoring and role modeling approaches, the YFP serves as a platform for young girls in Senior High Schools to deliberate on various developmental and governance issues, particularly those affecting the growth, education, and development of young girls and women in general, especially persons with disabilities.
Through this platform, young women are able to analyze social issues affecting women, conduct advocacy, make informed choices, offer solutions, and get their voices heard. The YFP also serves as a launch pad for young girls with qualities, skills, and ambitions to build their confidence, skills, competencies, and knowledge, enabling them to more effectively participate in decision making in their schools, communities, and beyond.”
Delivering a keynote address as the special guest, the Upper East Regional Director of Education Alice Ellen Abeere-inga decried the struggle of women to occupy leadership positions.
She called on NGOs to include males in their intervention programs to reduce the dropout rate among males.
“To the policymakers: Girls-focused policies must be the norm in making policies, not the exception. Fund them. Implement them, Monitor them. Scale them. To parents: Encourage your daughters to question for understanding, to dream to be focus, and to lead for direction, To teachers and mentors: Speak life into girls and the life to speak, one positive word or action is encouraging to shift a destiny. To promising young girls here and to your colleagues out there: You are not just the future leaders—you are leaders in formation. Do not let anyone mute your voice, shrink your vision, or dim your light. Target what you have in your mind and follow it.”
The Regional Director is concerned about school girls getting pregnant as she urged them to focus on their education until they are of age.
Authorities at the Kusanaba Senior High School expressed gratitude to ActionAid for organizing such a program in the school.
