<<Print>>

Gender Advocates across the country at the weekend declared their intention to campaign for women parliamentary aspirants in Election 2012 irrespective of the political affiliation. �It is amazing that political parties are unable to create space for women in the decision-making arena yet they need women�s votes to win,� Ms Afi Yakubu, Executive Director of the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa (FOSDA) told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Accra. She noted: �When women have a voice in policies and campaign platforms, candidates will have a better chance at gaining the votes of a huge block of potential women voters. �While 25 women were elected to parliament in 2004, the number of female MPs dropped to 19 in 2008� we must reverse the trend in Elections 2012,� She said current democratic development across the globe dictates that women who want to get involved in the national political parties should not only be given administrative positions outside the policy decision-making sector. Ms Yakubu said until recently, apart from the National Democratic Congress and now the Convention Peoples Party, no major political party has had a woman close to the top where policy decisions are made. She noted commended the CPP which had tapped the potential of women in politics by dramatically, electing Ms Samia Yaba Nkrumah as the first female Chairperson of any party in the country. She said since the late 1990s, the NDC Constitution committed to allocating 40 per cent of positions they control in government to women and the contribution of Former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings also held high level position in the party. �We need to extend this trend right down to the parties at the District level where women are intimately acquainted with the local problems and needs that limit their ability to increase education, health and economic development,� She stated. Ms Yakubu appealed to the Media to tell the gender story as women politicians have made a difference��FOSDA believes the news media plays a major role in advancing the leadership of women�. She said as the elections 2012 heat up political parties need to develop strong positions on issues that affect women who make up about 51 per cent of the population. She explained that after almost two decades of uninterrupted democratic governance, we all want to hear the voice of women in development that reduces poverty in Ghana. Ms Amina Montia, Convenor of the Savannah Women�s Empowerment Group � Ghana (SWEGG) in her contribution said in the traditional environment women have always had to be extremely resourceful in sustaining a family, being educators in raising children and hard workers in support of their husbands, often against huge challenges. These are also some of the qualities that make successful entrepreneurs who can start and grow a business. In some places, micro-lending programmes that put money in the hands of women have seen a blossoming of economic growth. The developed world can look at under-developed countries like Ghana and see this huge, untapped part of the population. Ms Montia said until our own leaders enable women to help describe the problems and find the solutions, we are like a population walking a long way on only one leg.