The Media have been urged to use their platforms to relentlessly pursue the agenda of having the Affirmative Action (AA) (Gender Equality) Bill passed into Law.
According to two Non-Governmental Organisations-- ABANTU for Development and Plan International, Ghana--the media could pursue this agenda by making use of all available research and statistics from the academia and civil society on the low representation of women in governance in Ghana to increase public awareness, advocate for citizen's interest and garner support for the immediate passage of the Ghana's AA (Gender Equality) Bill into Law.
ABANTU for Development is a gender and policy advocacy Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) while Plan International, Ghana, is an international Non-Governmental Organisation that works in partnership with children, families and communities, to develop sustainable ways to end the cycle of poverty
Addressing a News Conference in Accra on May 18, 2022, Ms Hamida Harrison, Programmes Officer, ABANTU for Development and Convener, Women's Manifesto Coalition, noted that inclusive political participation had become central to development initiatives and was at the heart of global frameworks for development, including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Ms Harrison said without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women's perspective at all levels of decision-making, the goals of equality, development, democracy and peace could not be achieved and development interventions and planning would not achieve sustainable results.
She cited Rwanda, Uganda, Angola, Mozambique, Gambia, Liberia, Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Burkina Faso and Senegal as examples of African countries in which the passage of Affirmative Action Laws resulted in marked improvement in women's participation and a corresponding positive impact in national development.
Ms Harrison recalled the Affirmative Action Act of 1960 which allowed 10 women to represent the ten regions of Ghana, unopposed, in the then Parliament of Ghana, adding that the Affirmative Action Act of 1960 acceded to the fact that women's political participation was a critical component of democratic dialogue and social cohesion.
She noted that even though discussions towards the drafting of an AA (Gender Equality) Law for Ghana had begun as far back as 2011, yet the Draft Bill was yet to be passed despite promises by Government in 2017 and 2020 to have the Bill passed into Law.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The media, as sword arm of democracy, guardian of the public interest, national development and women's participation in national governance, she said, therefore, had a clear mandate to execute in the passage of the(AA) (Gender Equality) Bill passed into Law.
In her opening remarks, Madam Grace Ampoma Afrifa, Programmes Officer, ABANTU for Development, noted that equality in political participation was at the heart of global frameworks for development, including the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Madam Afrifa described Affirmative Action Law as an important tool that could help correct the inequities and imbalances in public life.
She noted that since 1998, efforts to promulgate an Affirmative Action Law in Ghana had not yielded the desired results and urged the media to explore effective strategies, scale-up the implementation of these strategies and to increase advocacy to secure the passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Bill into Law.
Madam Afrifa also called on the media to continuously remind government of its obligation to prioritize inclusiveness in consonance with the 1992 Constitution as well as its commitments under international continental and regional Conventions and Protocols.
The News Conference formed part of efforts to implement a project dubbed: Strengthening Advocacy for the Passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into Law in Ghana.
The two-year project, which is being implemented by ABANTU for Development, with support from the African Women's Development Fund (AWDF), was launched in Accra in September 2018.
