staunch members of the other party. She later made the active gender desk officer an appointed assembly member so that it would have a stronger platform for her activities. This activism suggests that female leadership may attract other female leaders and that affirmative action in this position (were it to remain appointed) might be something to consider. The case also throws some light on the role of international development agencies. DISCAP did more than just provide transport. It piloted the gender desk approach in northern Ghana. Subsequently, the minister of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs pledged to regularize this position. In its project completion report, the project listed the following under its achievements: “In the 2006 local elections, the number of women elected to district assemblies, as well as the number of women holding executive positions in assemblies, both doubled compared to the previous local elections in 2002” (CIDA and MLGRDE 2007, p. 12). The extent to which this result can be attributed to DISCAP is unclear, but international support for local activism likely influenced this outcome.
ETHIOPIA
This section presents the results relating to the long route of accountability in Ethiopia. It is based on both the household survey and case study findings. Representatives’ Relationship to Households This section discusses the interface between rural residents and local political representatives. it also examines resources—such as access to information and social capital and the extent to which residents are able to participate in the political process—that may better enable them to exercise their voice. Knowledge and Access to Information For rural residents to be able to hold local governments and service providers accountable for the quality of public services in their area, they must have general information about local and national matters, provided through the media or telecommunication devices. The use of media sources and telecommunication tools is highly constrained in Ethiopia, particularly among women (figure 6.4). For example, only slightly more than half of men and slightly more than a quarter of women had listened to a radio in the previous 12 months, and just 13 percent of men and 6 percent of women had watched TV (the figures for newspapers were half these rates). The number of respondents who had used the remaining forms of media was small. Accessing these sources of information and communication requires complementary assets and endowments (private physical assets such as radios and mobile phones and public services and infrastructure such as landline access).
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GENDER AND GOVERNANCE IN RURAL SERVICES