By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Deputy Ranking Member on the Select Committee on Defence and Interior and the Member of Parliament for Klottey-Korle in the Greater Accra Region, Dr. Zanetor Agyeman-Rawlings, says the almost 15% representation of women in the 8th Parliament suggests a significant improvement in women’s representation, especially when compared to the previous Parliaments under the Fourth Republic.
But she however added that there is a need for more commitment in addressing women’s equality and representation in governance at all levels.
“It is important to recognize that the political parties have taken a good leap by attempting to reduce fees for women contesting for political offices on their tickets yet those reductions seem insignificant if you consider the general high cost of elections in the country.”
In a statement she delivered on the floor of Parliament on March 10, 2023, in commemoration of International Women’s Day, which fell on March 8, 2023, under the theme embracing equity and on the need for the passage of the affirmative action bill, the MP stressed, “there is an urgent need for the Affirmative Action Bill to be brought to Parliament now.”
She used the occasion to congratulate all forty (40) female Members of the House and indeed all women and gender equality activists and proceeded to mention a few, like “Justice Georgina Theodora Wood and Justice Sophia Akuffo have served as first and second female Chief Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively. In Parliament, Justice Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo, the first female Speaker of Parliament.”
According to her, the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has exceeded the United Nations quota for gender mainstreaming in male dominated professions. At the Ghana Armed Forces’ Commemoration of International Women’s Day on the theme “Enhancing GAF’s Innovative Gender Equity Strides for an Inclusive Force,” Naval Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin, whose appointment also presents a milestone in the history of the Armed Forces, stressed that the Ghana Armed Forces presents not less than 15% of women in all UN Peace Support Operations, which is above the mandatory 10% set out by the United Nations as far as contingents are concerned. The Ghana Armed Forces have currently also deployed 20% females on UN Missions in Lebanon. This is the highest in the whole world”.
Elucidating on Affirmative Action Bill she noted it is not just a policy tool geared towards the creation of equal opportunities for women, but several research conducted both home and abroad laid significant credence to the fact that an equal and equitable society promotes significant development.
She said, “a 2008 study of politics in the UK cited by UNIFEM (2008) found that since 1997, when women’s representation in parliament doubled to 18.2%, issues of concern to women were being taken up in mainstream policy and political debates more often.
Another study in Norway found a direct connection between the percentage of women represented in the City Council and child care programmes. In West Bengal and Rajasthan, where one third of all council seats were reserved for women-only competition in local government, a study found that there were systematic differences between complaints made by men and women.
Women, more than men, were likely to make requests and complaints about water resources. As well, while there were no differences in the patterns of demands made by male and female led councils, there were striking differences in responses in that drinking water projects were 60% higher in female-led councils than male-led councils (UNIFEM, 2008)”.
The Affirmative Action Bill in Ghana seeks to provide a framework for addressing issues of gender inequality and promoting equal opportunities for all citizens in various sectors of the country’s economy. But she added that there are several challenges facing the implementation of this bill.