Two women’s right groups have expressed their indignation at the increasing rate of attacks on women who take up leadership positions in the country.
“Unfortunately, we have sat in our comfort zones of incredulity, that now these abhorrent, vile, incendiary and contemptible verbal attacks are passing the threshold into threats of death,” the two groups said.
The two groups are ABANTU for Development and the Women’s Manifesto Coalition (WMC).
Personal attacks
A statement signed by the Executive Director of ABANTU, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said the recent personal attacks and abuse and now the threat of death on the Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Jean Mensa, were “revolting, horrendous, awful and unacceptable”.
“We are deeply saddened that women in leadership positions have faced multiple insults and acts of degradation over the years while performing their assigned and constitutionally mandated duties,” the statement added.
It noted that women in Ghana had in recent times managed to ascend to very high-profile positions of leadership, some for the first time such as the first woman Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood; the first woman Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Charlotte Osei, and the first woman Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Justice Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo.
“These women and others served under the barrage of vitriol and threats, approval and disapproval from various sections of our citizenry. Nevertheless, they contributed in no small way, in progressing the aspirations and motivations of so many other women and helped push the nation’s required mandate of promoting women in institutional arrangements for sustainable development,” it said.
Support to women
The statement said the two women rights groups had been consistent in their support and defence of women in national policy and decision spaces and as organisations.
“We will continue to advocate the need for Ghana to hold itself accountable to its constitutional mandate of increasing women’s equal participation and representation in public policymaking and decision making at all levels,” it stated.
“We want to assure Mrs Jean Mensa that we recognise the difficulties associated with serving in such a combative position as the Electoral Commissioner trying to satisfy strong diverse political viewpoints in the hope of delivering universally acceptable democratic and electoral outcomes,” the two groups added. #Ghanavotes2020
Source: Daily Graphic
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Who is mad hrrrrrrrrrrrr npp supporters my chief is mad and what about the president and jean mensah if nana dorma hene is mad then the president and jean mensah are insane because they want to subject this country into chaos
DORMAA CHIEF IS MAD. HE IS CRAZY OVER VOTERS REGISTRATION. TWO DAYS AGO A CERTAIN APOSTLE OWUSU ADJEI SMOKE WEE AND GOT OUT OF CONTROL TO MAKE THREATS AND INSULTS AGAINST SOME PROMINENT STATE PERSONALITIES. NOBODY CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT TRIGGERED THE ***barred word*** OF THE DORMAA CHIEF, FOR HIM AMONG ALL THE CHIEFS IN GHANA, TO REACT IN THAT MANNER. HE SEEMED NOT TO BE AWARE THAT HE HAS JUST ONE VOTE LIKE ANY GHANAIAN AND HE CANNOT EVEN COMPEL HIS WIFE TO VOTE THE WAY HE WOULD LIKE. HE MIGHT BE INCENSED BY TOGBE AFEDZI INVITATION TO EC. DORMAA CHIEF AND TOGBE AFEDZE MUST BE REALISTIC TO KNOW THAT EC IS WORKING SO HARD TO MAKE UP THE DELAY CAUSED BY COVID-19. SO THE EC DOES NOT HAVE THE PLEASURE OF TIME FOR PLEASANTRIES. THE CHALLENGES OF EC IS COMPOUNDED WITH COURT CASES AND SO EVERYBODY AT EC IS OVERWORKING. MANY GHANAIANS TODAY ARE NOT AMUSED BY THE ATTITUDE OF CHIEFS LIKE TOGBE AFEDZI AND HIS LIKE. THE THEATRICAL SHOW OF AUTHORITY BY DOMAA CHIEF IS VERY SHAMEFUL, THOUGH NOT NEW TO ANYONE IN GHANA. HE IN NOTED FOR HIS ERRATIC STATEMENTS AND HIS INCONSISTENT EMOTIONAL APTITUDE. DORMAA CHIEF MUST KNOW THAT HE IS CHIEF OVER AN AREA DIFFERENT FROM TOGBE AFEDZI WHO IF CHIEF OVER PEOPLE OF ONE POLITICAL PARTY. DORMAA CHIEF HAS CUSTODY OVER AN AREA WHICH CONSIST OF DIFFERENT POLITICAL PARTIES AND THAT ANY MISUSE OF HIS TRADITIONAL ROLE CAN EASILY INCUR THE ROUGH OF MANY OF HIS OWN PEOPLE. AS MAGISTRATE BY PROFESSION HE IS EXPECTED TO KNOW BETTER THAT THE WORK AND FUNCTIONS OF EC ARE DEFINED BY LAW AND THAT EC CANNOT OVERTURN ANYTHING DECIDED BY THE CONSTITUTION, THE PARLIAMENT NOR THE SUPREME COURT. I WISH OUR ELDERS LIKE HIM WOULD LEAD BY EXAMPLE TO RESPECT AND SUPPORT THE RULE OF LAW. THE PREVIOUS OFFICIALS OF EC LOST MANY CASES AT THE SUPREME COURT BECAUSE THEY ACT WRONGLY. THAT IS INCOMPETENCE. GHANAIANS DO NOT EXPECT THE CURRENT EC TO BE INCOMPETENT.