CPP urges organisations to educate men on women’s political rights

The National Women's Organiser of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Hajia Hamdatu Ibrahim, has urged civil society organisations (CSOs), the media and state human rights institutions to educate men on women’s rights especially with regard to participating in active politics.

She said politics was not the preserve of men or special people, declaring that “in true politics, the role of women cannot be ignored”.

Hajia Ibrahim, who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra at a day’s sensitisation workshop on Gender Equality Policy Guidelines for media and political parties, organised by the Foundation for Security and Development in Africa, said the issue of gender parity in our society remained a challenge nationwide.

She said socio-economic, cultural, religious and psychological hindrances were preventing women from participating actively in public and political life.

She said the perception that politics was a “dirty game, ” was preventing many women from actively participating in it.

She said the issue could only be addressed through an effective educational campaign for men to disabuse their minds of the concept that women were second-class citizens, and added that it was only in a parochial society that the importance of  a woman was always down-played.

Hajia Ibrahim recounted that the world had seen the role of women in fighting for democracy in Pakistan, India, Britain, Burma and Indonesia, and added that there was no religion which barred women from active politics.

The women’s organiser said although women constituted 51 per cent of Ghana’s population, they currently accounted  for less than 10 per cent of people in public office and only eight per cent of parliamentarians, hence more needed to be done by all political parties to increase the participation of women in politics and public discourse at all levels.

She said the CPP had shown the way by being the first party in the country to elect a woman as chairman of a political party and had ensured that a certain quota of party executive at all levels of the party was allocated to women.

She appealed to CSOs to also intensify their campaign of urging more women to enter politics, take up public office and  actively participate in public discourse.

Hajia Ibrahim advised women who engaged in public discourse to always ensure that they gathered enough facts. 

She urged the media to help promote gender issues and to ensure that, at least, 30 per cent of panellists in public discourse were women.