The People’s National Convention (PNC) has raised alarm over the significant number of female incumbent Members of Parliament who have lost their parliamentary seats to men in the New Patriotic Party’s safe seat zones.
According to the PNC, such a trend could potentially decrease female representation in the 2024 elections and subsequently in the 9th parliament.
The Party stated that it was disheartening to see that the NPP had not taken any steps to protect female parliamentarians in the just ended election.
The inaction of the NPP, according to the PNC, is akin to the marginalization of women in Ghana’s political sphere.
They have thus urged parliament to enact laws that address challenges of gender inequalities.
“It is concerning that there are still issues of low representation of women in politics, and parliament appears to be ignoring the concerns of women in Ghana by not passing the affirmative action bill,” the PNC stated.
The PNC has thus encouraged Ghanaian women to utilize demonstrations and boycotts, including potentially boycotting the 2024 elections, if the Affirmative Action Bill is not passed into law prior to the elections.
“Both the NPP and the NDC, as political parties represented in parliament, have taken the women of Ghana for granted. We appeal to all women in Ghana, including female politicians, food sellers, market women, women in farming, and those in the private and public sectors, to stand up and demonstrate for their rights.”
The Party also called on “civil society organizations, the media, academia, religious leaders and experts to shift their focus from NPP and NDC politics and instead exert pressure on these two political parties to pass the Affirmative Action Bill into law, in order to ensure female participation in Ghana’s politics.”
Meanwhile, the PNC has vowed that a future PNC government upon assuming office will pass the Affirmative Action Bill into law within six months and transform the Ministry of Gender into a non-political ministry by granting gender-based institutions the power to appoint the head of the ministry.
ALSO READ: