Members of Parliament are advocating for a policy that will allow political parties in the country reserve a quota of parliamentary seats for women in their strongholds.
The concerns follow a statement in the house by Kumbungu MP, Ras Mubarak on under-representation of women in Parliament.
The Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa emphasized the need for Parliament to consider an affirmative action bill that will allow for quotas of parliamentary seats to be reserved for women
“We cannot continue to be paying lip service to the issue of gender equity and equality. I want to appeal to the House that just as we did in 1960 where we passed the representation of the people law number 8, we should consider an affirmative action bill. Let us work on it and let us insert in that bill , quotas to be reserved for women.”
The Member of Parliament for Ablekuma North, Akua Afriyie indicated that society should “evolve and enact laws that will ensure that certain constituencies are not contested by men.”
“They should leave it for women so that it will ensure that the representation we are expecting will be fulfilled.”
Hajia Alima said it is “important to encourage women because of the circumstances that we find ourselves in.”
Currently, there are less than 40 women in parliament and many argue that affirmative action is required to increase the numbers.
This comes on the back of President Nana Akufo-Addo’s remarks at the 2019 Women Deliver Conference in Canada.
President Akufo-Addo has faced criticism from Ghanaian feminists and gender advocates for suggesting that women were not fighting hard enough for gender parity.
Critics said the President ignored the role expected of the leaders in the male-dominated political space.
But the President received some support for his comments.
The post Reserve a quota of parliamentary seats for women – MPs advocate appeared first on Citi Newsroom.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS