Women In Politics Inspire New Aspirants

Tuesday November 30, 2010
By Edmund Mingle
A group of women politicians in a meeting
A group of women in leadership positions in the country has inspired female aspirants to higher political offices to assert themselves in order to win the confidence of society.
According to them, a sure way to break gender disparity against women in the Ghanaian society was for women to develop themselves to be in the position to provide development solutions.

The women leaders, including Ministers of State, Members of Parliament and Executive of the various parties agreed on the need for female aspirants to be more assertive, during discussions at a two-day seminar at Atimpoku at the weekend.The seminar, organized by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) had the theme, "Towards increased women s participation and representation in Parliament."
It also brainstormed on the way forward for women empowerment and how to improve the number of females in leadership position.
Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, contributing to the discussion, said although public office comes with huge challenges for women, it was incumbent on women themselves to overcome those challenges to prove to society that they could equally deliver like their male counterpart.
She gave the assurance that those of them in leadership positions would continue to work hard to deliver so as to justify the confidence society has reposed in them.
That, she said would go a long way to encourage society to give more opportunities to women.

Mrs. Juliana Azumah Mensah, Minister of Women and Children s Affairs, for her part, believed that women have a lot to offer society, adding it would take a lot of effort to address the challenges hindering the progress of the female gender in society.
"I think we women have to prove a little more because more is required of us," she told the seminar.

In addition, the Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ho East, urged women aspiring to leadership positions to be humble and serve their communities well because society appreciates people who dedicate themselves to the service of the nation.

Mrs. Susan Adu Amankwah, Greater Accra Regional Chairperson of the Convention People s Party, in her remarks, observed that although some gains have been made in the fight for increased numbers of women in the legislature and in governance, more work remained to be done.Frema Osei-Opare, MP for Ayawaso West Wuogon, in her contribution, urged women aspirants for political leadership positions to invest in themselves."

"We need to work hard to win the confidence of the public," she said.She said aside the national efforts to ensure gender parity in governance in favour of women, there was a need for the women themselves to work for positions based on their ability to deliver, rather than relying on the benevolence of their male counterparts.
Citing her political life as an example, she said there was the need for women aspirants to be very active in their parties and communities so their good works would put them up.

Ms. Otiko A. Djaba, National Women's Organizer of the New Patriotic Party, for her part, called for more co-operation and partnership among women irrespective of their political affiliation in order to advance the cause of the female gender.She reminded them of the need to be supportive of each other and fight for space since it would not be handed over to them freely.