Deepening Inclusive Development Philosophies: Women’s Participation In District Level Elections In Ghana

Globally, contemporary development policy issues are increasingly being driven and grounded on inclusive values. Several conversations are ongoing at various levels, to make sure that “the right mix” of strategies is found, to ensure that no segment of any society feels alienated, disenfranchised or marginalised in the development discourses of their society. At the centre of these conversations is the need to mainstream women and gender considerations at the heart of development planning processes.

While these conversations are (in principle) considered foresighted and refreshing, Country-level Action Plans aimed at creating the needed framework for realising these goals have been mediocre, to say the least.

I am one of those who think that, considering how far we have come in the journey to fulfilling our “aspirational” democratic objectives-since the inception of the Fourth Republican Constitution-women’s participation in both private and “public” spheres should have been competitive and comparable to standards prevailing in countries like Rwanda and Burundi. Despite the stories of political tension and other “violent” newsfeeds that emanate from these countries, they have at least, managed to get “something right”. Thus, by making women and gender concerns relevant and critical to their socioeconomic, political and the wider development conversations.

I am excited to learn that Ghana has recently developed and adopted a Gender Policy. The question is: beyond all these “paper work” like we say in the Ghanaian parlance, what is being done to ensure that these policy documents are followed through? Developing policy documents without the political spine to see such policies through is not only condescending, but very sad. I recall a comment a reader made in one of my previous articles that, it is “unBiblical” or irreligious to make any case for women’s rise to public office. How interesting! No wonder uncomplimentary words are being bandied about to describe women who try to push the boundaries of feminism in the Ghanaian socio-cultural ecology. Contrary to the perception out there, any woman/lady (worth her sort) who espouses the real ideals of feminism knows “it is not a license” to disrespect other people especially, men. But, see it as an opportunity to engage in an honest and open conversation with other stakeholders about righting the wrongs of patriarchy in our everyday interactions.

We forget that even the Holy Books advocate for equity in every facet of human life. As a Muslim, I can assure my audience that, the Quran has not imposed any “unnecessary” restrictions on women just because of their biological makeup. There are exegeses to show that, Islamic feminism was celebrated even in the earliest days of Islam. However, the continuous subjection of Islamic and Quranic texts to Arabic and other cultural male interpretations are responsible for the description of the position of the woman as a subordinated one (see Kynsilehto, 2008) in an edited book entitled; Islamic Feminism: Current Perspectives. Thanks to the Iranians for these enlightenment. It is therefore gibberish for anybody to hide behind religious scriptures to deny women and other marginalised groups the opportunity to serve their nations with dignity. I am glad however that, some inroads are being made.

Women and the coming District Level Elections

The role of grassroots participation in governance of any form cannot be quantified. However, nearly thirty years after the adoption of the Local Government System in Ghana, the number of women elected to represent their people at the grassroots level still remains a drop in the ocean. Over the years, it has taken only government gesture (tokenism) to appoint women as representatives at the local level; when in fact, women constitute more than 51 percent of the total population of Ghana (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). In some of the districts I have visited (during our study), the government quota, strictly earmarked for women were in some instances sidestepped or renegotiated, for political expedient purposes.

Prior to the cancellation of the scheduled District Assembly Elections, only 38 women filed to contest for the elective positions at the District and Municipal Assembly levels, in the Upper West Region; out of a total of 765 candidates (Awall, 2015) This story is not different from what is happening in other regions. There are cases (in some districts) where no single woman has filed to contest, because of the odds stuck against them. It is not like some of these women are unwilling to engage in the process. But, the playing turf is so “culturally-defined” and limiting to the extent that, women’s voices can hardly survive in such chauvinist environments. With the increasing monetization of the electoral process, Ghanaian women are finding it even harder to compete for space in our governance structures. Can anybody imagine how it feels to be “double blinded or doubly discriminated against” because you’re a woman, and also lack the resources to make your voice heard?” that is the story of our mothers, sisters and daughters at the grassroots level.

The thing is, because there are no women representatives, or men who understand gender issues at these levels, development projects and programmes have also tended to follow similar “exclusionary” lines. Boreholes, markets and other development projects have been sited in places without recourse to the views of people who use them frequently. Such projects have become white elephants, when they are supposed to respond to people’s needs. These are some of the benefits we miss out on, when we do not engage women (or people who understand gender dynamics) in our development planning, implementation and monitoring processes.

As Ghana and the international community gear feverishly towards the post-2015 Development Agenda, it is my hope that, countries like Ghana would begin to see our Local Government System as an important avenue to promoting women and gender considerations in our development discourse. No single society can be touted as “progressive” when the plight and circumstances facing half of its constituency “is nothing to write home about”-as we say in the Ghanaian parlance. Lol!! I am looking forward to a “Modern Ghana” where access to socioeconomic, political and other opportunities are not twisted and span to suit patriarchal and “politically-correct” idiosyncrasies; but the need for inclusive and “all-on-board” development agenda for national unity. Our daughters deserve better!!

Inusah Mohammed Awall

Twitter: @Wagoooni