Women advised to partake in governance

Women activist, Mrs Bernice Sam, has called on women to strive to partake in decision-making and governance processes in the country.

According to her, women’s involvement in decision making and governance, especially at the local level was critical for growth and development of the country.

Despite the various international treaties and agreements, laws and policies which Ghana has ratified and endorsed, Mrs Sam said women in Ghana were confronted with systematic and structural challenges which prevented them from participating in decision making and governance.

Mrs Sam was speaking at a national forum on gender equality and women’s rights organised by the Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre in Accra.

The challenges

Aside the systematic challenges, she said innumerable factors inhibited women’s full participation in political decision making, including financial, illiteracy, lack of support from spouses and low self-confidence.

“Despite the constitutional provisions and ministerial directives, there is no law on affirmative action to get more women appointed into political office,” she noted.

With increasing concerns about corruption in the public sector, Mrs Sam explained that some women were hesitant towards entering an arena where they could be tempted with money.

She added that “women who want to enter national politics sometimes do not receive as much support from their political parties. Sometimes women are not part of the ‘old boys’ network and do not have the connections to advance themselves politically,” she stated.

“Empower yourself”

Mrs Sam, therefore, said the Affirmative Action bill-quotas were a giant step towards the goal of increased participation of women in public and political life when passed and implemented.

She called on the Electoral Commission to fix a date for district elections and give it the seriousness that was attached to national elections and also undertake extensive education of the public on the district elections.

Mrs Sam also encouraged women to build individual civic competencies such as getting more education through attending courses, public speaking, confidence building and assertiveness and network, and mobilise others to support the course.

“Higher education can be a factor to increasing the number of women in local government. Adult education classes for women at the community level will boost their morale. This underscores the importance of ensuring girls remain and complete their education,” she said.

The Executive Director for ABANTU for Development, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said it was necessary to mentor the younger women generation to join the movement and champion women’s rights.

Although progress had been made, she said there was the need for more women to be supported to partake in governance decisions.