Women groups must work hard to avert election conflicts

Accra, Dec. 19, GNA – Women's organisations must strategize to maintain the peace of the nation throughout the processes of Election 2012 while they up their activities towards increasing their representation in politics and decision-making to ensure gender equity.

“As women's rights organisations, especially in Africa, we are very much aware of what vulnerabilities women and girls are exposed to in any kind of unrest, therefore, we must dedicate some serious time to peace initiatives from the grassroots to the national level,” Mrs Angela Dwamena Aboagye, Executive Director of Ark Foundation has stated.

Mrs Dwamena-Aboagye was reviewing the Status of Women in 2011 across the globe under the auspices of the Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT). Highlighting events from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe that impacted on women's lives in a 20-paged report, she described the year as 'interesting' with some significant gains at both home and abroad but generally not far reaching because no society treats its women as well as its men.

She said working successfully to sustain the national peace and the achievement of gender parity required commitment, time, resources, high level organisation, creative and cost effective programming and on the spot advocacy.

She, therefore, advised women's rights organisations to find creative ways to form relationships and partnerships with faith-based women's groups such as AGLOW and Muslim Women's Associations; Women in Academia; Women in the Arts and Young Women towards achieving their goals.

“The women's movement has many issues to confront persons seeking political office with, and we should be ready to go all out,” she stressed.

Mrs Dwamena-Aboagye,however, noted that the prospect of increasing women's participation in Parliament in 2013 was bleak with the trend of political events but said there was hope that 2016 could be a different story should an Affirmative Action Law be promulgated.

The Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda 2010 report on Women in Public Life indicates that Women Ministers constituted 21 per cent, Deputy Ministers -20 per cent, Members of Parliament – nine per cent, Municipal, Municipal and District Chief Executives –seven per cent and chief directors 24 per cent.

The report also put the representation of women judges at 29 per cent at the Supreme Court, 25 per cent at the High Court, while women appointed to district assemblies was 7.3 per cent with their elected counterparts being 11 per cent.

Mrs Dwamena-Aboagye said in view of the limited successes chalked in this field despite the relentless advocacy and education over the years, Women's Groups were counting on their proposals to the Constitutional Review Commission for the 1992 Constitution.

These include the establishment of a Gender Equality Commission, adoption of a quota of at least 30 per cent representation of women in political and public life and the elimination of discrimination against women in the fields of employment and education.

She urged women's groups to also focus for research, intense advocacy and services the issues of human trafficking, women facing mental health problems, girls being forced into marriages, women accused of witchcraft in traditional camps, women with disabilities and widows and poverty.

Mr Andrews Tetteh, a volunteer lawyer, who has handled hundreds of women's legal aid issues at the Ark Foundation's Legal Centre for free was honoured with a citation and a certificate by NETRIGHT. Many other individuals and organisations were praised for their support for women's advancement.

NETRIGHT is a coalition of about 54 organisations and more than 150 individuals across the country who are working together to promote gender dimensions of national policies and processes and advocate for policy change.

GNA