The communication officer for the Bole-Bamboi constituency of the NDC , Mr Bashiru Amantana , has described as worrying statistics indicating a decline in women’s participation in politics in the country.
He said the statistics did not tally with Ghana’s credentials as a mature and stable democratic country with a well-functioning multi-party system and a strong broadcast media.
He said it was also a signal that the country was not doing well in connection with achieving the Sustainable Development Goal Five on gender equality.
Mr Bashiru made this known on Yagbon radio morning show as Ghana goes to the polls to elect various Assembly/ Unit Committee members on Tuesday 19, 2023.
He mentioned that out of 27 electoral areas in the Bole District only 2 females are contesting as Assembly members in the Mandari and Sonyo electoral areas.
He urged stakeholders in electoral processes to put in place appropriate policies, programmes, activities and legislations that will bring social change and attract more women into local governance.
“Women involvement in the decision making processes is very critical not only because they constitute the majority of the population in the country but they are most often discriminated against and under-represented in the socio-economic and political activities of the country,” he intimated.
Mr Bashiru mentioned the reasons for the low representation of women in District and local level elections to include financial barriers, outmoded traditional/cultural and religious definition of a leader being a male that we still held on to and the kind of politics going on in the country now, which was so messy that most women with families did not want to get themselves involved.
On what to do to get more women in the decision-making process, he suggested the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law, adding that, it would facilitate the 40 per cent representation of women in decision-making.
Source: yagbonradioonline
