Members of the AA Bill coalition were in parliament to witness the passage of the bill

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Parliament passes Affirmative Action bill

Rebecca Quaicoe Duho Jul - 31 - 2024 , 07:57

The Affirmation Action Gender Equity Bill 2024, which has been in and out of the Parliament since 2011, was yesterday finally passed unanimously by the House.

The now awaiting to become a law by Prseidential assent is expected to ensure that a critical number of women hold key positions in governance, public life, and decision-making spaces, thereby improving the lives of women in the country.

The bill also seeks to encourage efforts towards addressing socio-cultural, political, economic, and educational gender imbalances in private and public sectors, per Clause 4 of Article 17 of the 1992 Constitution.

The Bill which consists of 34 clauses and six schedules, seeks a 50/50 per cent representation and participation of both women and men in governance, public positions of power, and all decision-making processes of the state.

The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Darkoa Newmann, moved the motion for the passage and it was passed unanimously by the House. The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, however, explained that there was still more needed to be done to ensure true equity among the genders.

"Don’t just celebrate and don't really put in place the vision that we have created for the country. But more importantly, I hope that members will commit themselves to the constitutional reforms.

We need to do more there to be able to create this free and just society we are looking for to liberate more of our women to be able to support us to develop mother Ghana," he said.

Objectives of the AA Bill

Its objective is to promote the progressive increase and active participation of women in public and active life from a minimum of 30 per cent by 2030, under the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The law will also help address issues on the marginalising of women in public and economic life in Ghana and also see to an increase in the number of women in leadership.

Again, it seeks to ensure that Ghana’s obligations under international human rights instruments to which it is a state party are complied with. According to gender advocates, it made economic sense to ensure gender equality, as the economy has better opportunities to grow and become more resilient to crises if women and men have equal rights.

As a support leading to the passage of the bill, members of the Affirmative Action Bill Coalition, which is a group of gender advocates, has since Monday been in parliament as the bill was undergoing the consideration stage till it was passed.

The Executive Director of ABANTU for Development, host of the AA Bill Coalition, Dr Rose Mensah Kutin, in a remark on the coalitions WhatsApp platform to congratulate members of the coalition said “Sheila Minkah- Premo...I do not have the words to applaud you.

The suggestion you made about the need for a coalition, the many platforms you had to speak on and your competency as a lawyer has yielded this result. Generations and generations of women and girls will acknowledge you, little one”.

Coalition

A member of the AA Bill Coalition, Charity Binka also said “Congratulations to women of Ghana. The 2011 journey has come to an end”. The Convenor of the AA Bill Coalition, Shiella Minka Premo, in a remark also said “Congratulations to all of us”.

Another memebr of the coalition said “Words can’t seem to define how I feel right now. Congratulations to the team, NETRIGHT and ABANTU.. As a young feminist, I am proud of the great work that has been done and to be a part of history”.

Other members also expressed their joy and happiness on the final passage of the bill into law.

Writer’s email:rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh