Oye Bampoe Addo Calls For The Reservation Of Parliamentary Seats For Women
- Former Gender Minister, Nana Oye Bampoe Addo, has expressed disappointment in parliament's failure to reserve seats for women
- She said the reservation of parliamentary seats has been one of the main demands of feminists
- But Bampoe Addo said despite the shortcoming, the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Bill 2024 is a good start to getting women through the door
Former Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Nana Oye Bampoe Addo has expressed disappointment in the failure of parliament to reserve some parliamentary seats for women in the Affirmative Action Bill 2024.
She was speaking in reaction to the passage of the Affirmative Action Gender Equity Bill 2024, which has been in and out of parliament for several years.
Source: UGC
The bill presented to the house by the Gender Minister, Darkoa Newmann, received unanimous approval from members of parliament.
The bill is expected to ensure women hold critical governance and public life positions.
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But Nana Oye Bampoe Addo in a JoyNews interview argued that the bill's failure also to reserve some parliamentary seats for women falls short of the move to get more women into parliament.
She stated that women-centred organisations in the country had explicitly requested that women be adequately represented in the house.
She said its absence from the bill was a disappointment and has urged parliamentarians to include it in the bill before the president assents to it.
However, Bampoe Addo was also pleased with the bill’s detailed provisions regarding the roles of various independent constitutional bodies to ensure gender parity.
She noted that the bill clearly explains the responsibilities of the Electoral Commission, public service, and other governmental sectors and the minimum percentage of women they must have on their decision-making boards.
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She was also pleased with the fines prescribed for government bodies that fail to submit a report to the Gender Equality Committee and the Department of Gender.
Nana Oye Bampoe Addo noted that if the law is implemented, the country will advance in gender equality in all governance and economic sectors.
Bagbin reacts to passage of Affirmative Action Bill
Lawmakers believe the passing of the bill will improve the lives of Ghanaian women in the country.
The Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, reacting to the bill’s passage, stated that more needed to be done to ensure true gender parity in the country.
He said lawmakers need not rest on their oars following the bill's passage but work assiduously to ensure that the vision set out in the bill is achieved within the set time. He implored lawmakers to commit to constitutional reforms to create a truly just and free society to liberate women from societal shackles.
He said this would enable women to contribute their quota to the development of mother Ghana.
Women entrepreneurs urged to support women politicians
YEN.com.gh reported that the Minister for Communications and Digitalisation, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, has urged women entrepreneurs to support the political ambitions of other women.
According to her, the unrelenting monetisation of Ghana’s political space has become a significant obstacle for women who want to run for office.
She says this has resulted in the low number of women in parliament, hindering women's political participation in decision-making.
Proofread by Berlinda Entsie, journalist and copy editor at YEN.com.gh
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Source: YEN.com.gh
