Accra — The Network for Women's Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) has called on the government to increase the representation of women on the Constitution Review Committee to enable them to actively participate in the process and bring out issues concerning women.

The objective of the Committee is to give Ghanaians the opportunity to review the 1992 constitution after 16 years of using it as the main framework of democratic governance in the country.

Whatever position the government decides to take, the interests of women's rights organization is very straightforward. It is about how gender equality issues are addressed as a central component of the review.

As is evident, representation, consultation and effective participation are critical building blocs for any constitutional review; however, NETRIGHT is skeptical about the extent to which the interest of women will be sufficiently reflected in the review process in the current constitution of the committee.

Even though NETRIGHT is pleased that two competent women are already on the committee, these women's capabilities are relevant for the review process and not necessarily for the articulation of gender equality concerns. As there is space for the committee to co-opt additional persons in the execution of its mandate, it is believed that women's interests would be better served if effectively represented.

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) says on pages 74-75 of its Manifesto which is the section on women's Empowerment that "An NDC government will aim at strengthening the position of Ghanaian women in senior governance posts, improving the conditions of poor women and actively promoting gender equality and equity.

There will be emphasis on Women's rights and participation in decision making processes at all levels whilst ensuring that public and in-house records are in gender sensitive language.

We shall introduce many policy and legislative reforms aiming for a minimum of 40% representation of women at conference and congresses of the party and in the government and public service."

A constitutional review is about the highest decision-making initiative of any country and it is important that the NDC government holds itself accountable to its own commitments in its Manifesto. And since women constitute 51 per cent of Ghana's population, it is imperative that women play a significant role in the review process to ensure women's issues are adequately considered, the group said.