ENCOURAGING WOMEN'S PARTICIPATION IN PUBLIC LIFE (NOV 24)

THROUGHOUT the world women face obstacles in their bid to participate in the decision-making process. These barriers exist in prevailing social and economic systems, as well as existing political structures.
In 2007, the rate of female representation in national legislatures stood at merely 18 per cent globally. Only 19 countries in the world have achieved the goal of 30+ per cent women’s representation, a goal which was adopted in Beijing in 1995.
The situation in Ghana is not different from the trend of low representation of women in the world. Currently, women constitute only 10.8 per cent of the 230-member Parliament in the country, although they constitute 51 per cent of the national population.
The fact that only few women find themselves in Parliament implies that a sizeable proportion of people in the country are under-represented and the ideal situation of ensuring parity between men and women still remains distant.
Last Friday, some women aspiring to become parliamentarians in the December 7 election made a call for the setting up of a fund to support women who will contest parliamentary seats in the future.
The DAILY GRAPHIC believes the appeal for support from aspiring women parliamentarians deserves attention.
In 2006, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, having realised that lack of financial support was the major obstacle to the aspirations of women who wished to aspire to decision-making positions, put in place a fund known as the Women In Local Governance Fund (WILGF) to support women who aspired to contest district level elections.
Apart from the setting up of funds, we can explore the possibility of introducing quota systems to ensure that women are fairly represented in Parliament. During the First Republic in 1960, there were 10 women in Parliament. Those women were appointed by the then President through an affirmative action policy.
The current Parliament has 25 women but what is disturbing is that fewer women are contesting the December 7 parliamentary election. Of the large number of women who showed interest, only 53 successfully went through the primaries. The National Democratic Congress (NDC) is presenting 11 women; the Convention People’s Party (CPP), 15; the New Patriotic Party (NPP), 16; the People’s National Convention (PNC), 13, with the rest coming from the other political parties.
The world is moving from rhetoric to action to ensure that women play more active roles in national development. We still live in a man’s world but we need a more gender sensitive approach to national development so that women’s contribution in society can be felt in all endeavours.
The myth that certain professions are the preserve of men has long been broken, as women are currently engaged in areas such as agriculture, engineering, aviation, auto mechanics, among other sectors.
Women have won the best teacher and best farmer awards and excelled in the academic field, obtaining First Class honours in our universities.
What more evidence do we need to recognise the need for a fruitful partnership between males and their female counterparts for progress in society?