After years of anticipation, Ghana’s Parliament has lastly handed the Affirmative Motion Invoice, which has been beneath deliberation since 2011.
The invoice, now awaiting presidential assent, has generated vital dialogue, with calls from civil society organizations (CSOs), gender activists, and different stakeholders who’ve lengthy advocated for its passage. Why has this invoice obtained a lot consideration, and what does its passage imply for the way forward for girls in Ghanaian politics?
Globally, there have been a number of calls over time to advertise equal illustration of ladies in all points of society, with politics being one sector the place a big gender hole persists.
Based on information from UN Girls as of January 1, 2024, 27 nations have 28 girls serving as Heads of State and/or Authorities, whereas solely 6 nations have achieved 50 % or extra girls of their single or decrease homes of parliament.
Regardless of some vital progress in rising girls’s participation in politics over time, the worldwide ratio of ladies to males stays notably low, and Ghana isn’t any exception. From native to nationwide ranges, the illustration of ladies in political positions in Ghana stays inadequate.
For the reason that attainment of independence, Ghana’s eighth parliament within the Fourth Republic has recorded the very best illustration of ladies in parliament, with 40 feminine Members of Parliament (MP) out of 275, representing 14.5 % in response to information by Inter- Parliamentary- Union (IPU).
This means that out of seven members of parliament, one could be feminine. Regardless of this improve, there’s a vital gender hole in politics. Ghana hasn’t attained the worldwide common of 30 % illustration of ladies in parliament really useful by the United Nations. The current district-level elections held in December 2023 revealed that 95.9 % of the 6,243 individuals elected as meeting members had been male, whereas females constituted 4.1 %.
Understanding the Want for the Affirmative Motion Invoice
Ghana, being the primary African nation to achieve independence, one would expect the nation to steer gender parity when it comes to politics. Nonetheless, the nation is lagging. The 2023 Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) report ranked Ghana 147 out of 193 nations, falling behind Sub-Saharan African nations like Rwanda, Senegal, and Namibia, which positioned first, fourteenth, and eighteenth respectively.
By way of political empowerment, Ghana was ranked 119th out of 146 nations within the 2024 world gender hole report.
A number of elements account for the underrepresentation of ladies in politics in Ghana. First, Ghana’s historically patriarchal society and socially ascribed gender roles have created a tradition the place males are imagined to be leaders and girls are anticipated to be submissive and obedient to males which has created a notion the place girls will not be prone to deal with males for political positions.
The implication is that girls who attempt to be completely different by searching for political positions might face social stigma and discrimination for deviating from conventional gender roles.
One other vital barrier is the excessive value of political campaigns. Girls typically have much less entry to monetary sources in comparison with males. Political events and financiers are cautious of sponsoring feminine politicians, partly as a result of they imagine girls are much less prone to win elections.
Information from the Ghana Statistical Service on the 2021 Inhabitants and Housing Census signifies that girls represent 50.7% of the nation’s inhabitants. Can we afford to exclude girls from decision-making processes once they make up greater than half of our inhabitants?
Girls’s involvement in decision-making processes in governance is vital for sustainable growth, not solely as a result of they represent a lot of the Ghanaian inhabitants but additionally as a result of they’re discriminated in opposition to and underrepresented in socio-economic and political growth actions, thereby widening the gender hole.
When girls are underrepresented in political positions insurance policies might lack numerous views, notably on points that predominantly have an effect on girls and youngsters. Excluding girls from political decision-making processes can result in a big underutilization of the obtainable expertise pool, probably hampering financial progress and growth.
The Affirmative Motion Invoice: A Step within the Proper Route
Subsequently, to attain gender parity in politics, aware efforts should be taken. Reaching gender parity in politics in Ghana includes an method that addresses cultural, structural, and institutional limitations.
Research have proven that nations which have achieved parity in girls’s illustration have executed so by introducing deliberative necessary Affirmative Motion measures. A living proof could be Rwanda, affirmative motion is an integral a part of the nation’s structure warranting not less than 30% illustration of ladies in decision-making organs. Rwanda is likely one of the few nations in Africa and the world with the very best illustration of ladies in parliament and different political positions.
Though Ghana is lagging behind when it comes to gender illustration in politics, the affirmative motion invoice is a step in the best route to assist improve the illustration of ladies particularly in politics. Whereas the hole stays extensive, the invoice has the potential to extend girls’s illustration in politics, making a extra inclusive and numerous political panorama within the years to come back.