Source: The Chronicle
Over 120 women, drawn from various women's groups, movements and associations in Bolgatanga, have advocated the immediate passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law.
The proposed Affirmative Action Bill final draft, which was validated in April this year in Koforidua, if passed into law, would ensure the Ghanaian government keeps to its promise of a 40% quota of representation for women in key decision-making positions, using the affirmative action directive.
At a durbar organised by Regional Inter-Sectorial Gender Network (RISEGNET) in Bolgatanga, with support from ActionAid Ghana, the women made a strong case against marginalisation and discrimination against them in all spheres of governance, and maintained that if the Affirmative Action Bill was passed into law, they would get fairness.
Having recounted the discrimination against women in key decision-making positions by successive governments, including appointment of women as regional ministers, ambassadors and members of the Council of State, the women insisted that since the final draft of the bill had been validated, the government should ensure its passage into law now.
The President of Present and Past Assembly Women's Association of the Upper East Region, Madam Agnes Atayila, observed that women had been relegated to the background in areas such as politics, governance, and traditional settings.
She believed that if the bill was passed into law, it would be a major boost to women and spur them on into assuming more challenging and competitive positions presently being dominated by their male counterparts.
This way, Madam Atayila believed women could also contribute their quota at all levels of national development.
The Upper East Regional Director for Department of Gender, Ms. Jocelyn Adii, bemoaned the low representation of women in public life since Ghana attained independence in 1957.
She stated that for a country that spearheads and advocates democratic governance in Africa, the composition of public holders should reflect the composition of governance.
She said even though the Affirmative Action Bill had been presented to Cabinet for approval, there was the need for all stakeholders and gender-based advocates to intensify lobbying Parliamentarians to avoid unnecessary delays in its passage.
The Chairman of RISEGNET, Mr. Daud James Abangos, regretted that since independence, no woman had ever headed the Upper East Region as Regional Minister; no woman had ever represented the region at the Council of State, only three women deputy regional ministers, three members of parliament, two District Chief Executives, two Presiding Members, and no woman ambassador from the region.
He said presently, the region had 23 elected assembly women, as against 353 members elected, while out of a total of 153 government appointees to the various assemblies, only 43 were women as against 110 being men.
With a total of 529 assembly members in the region, only 66 were women, both elected and appointed, while men were 463.
Mr. Abangos was hopeful that if the Affirmative Action Bill was passed into law, all these imbalances would be addressed.
The acting Regional Minister, Alhaji Limuna Mohammed-Muniru, acknowledged the enormous contributions of women to national development, and said in order to ensure the collective ownership of the bill when passed into law, the government had consulted almost all the necessary stakeholders, especially women's groups, and considered their inputs.
He, therefore, gave the assurance that the government would not only pass the bill into law, but also ensure its full implementation.