It may take Ghana another 60 years to double the number of women in Parliament – Oye Lithur
It has taken Ghana 60 years after Independence to attain the highest number of women in Parliament.
Currently, there are 36 women comprising 13 per cent in Ghana’s Parliament out of the 275 parliamentarians.
Some consider this development as a remarkable feat but the former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur says it may take Ghana another 60 years to double the number of women representation in Parliament if conscious effort is not made to pass the Affirmative Action Bill into a law.
Speaking at a dialogue on the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill organized by Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), in collaboration with the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana), she noted that even if it takes Ghana another 60 years to double the number of women in Ghana’s Parliament to 26 per cent, it is still short of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN- ECOSOC) recommendation of 30 per cent as the minimum critical mass of women needed in parliament.
“The 87 per cent of men in our parliament as against 13 per cent of women is discriminatory and gross imbalance in our body politics,” she said.
“136 women contested in the 2016 parliamentary elections but only 36 won their seats although low, albeit an improvement over the years,” she added.
She indicated that gender-based violence is on the increase and it will be critical for women to take up leadership roles to better address such issues.
With regards to the economy, Oye Lithur pointed out that small and medium scale enterprises are dominated by women and there is the need for women themselves to occupy seats in Parliament to make better policies to improve the lives of women in the sector.
The affirmative Action Bill seeks for a 40 per cent representation and participation of women in governance, public positions of power and decision making.
The Affirmative Action Bill, additionally seeks to promote the full and active participation of women in public life by providing a more equitable system of representation in electoral politics and governance structures.
Oye Lithur called on all stakeholders, men and women to get involved towards the acceleration of the Bill into Law to help protect and empower women to play their role in the country’s development.
By Pamela Ofori-Boateng
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