<<Print>>

Former Minister of Gender Children and Social Protection and Former Women’s Organiser of the New Patriotic Party, Hon Otiko Afisah Djaba has called for the need for positive discrimination to ensure that a lot more women take up political and leadership roles.

Speaking to Peace News on the loss of about 7 female members of parliament including Hon Sarah Adwoa Sarfo, Hon Tina Mensah, Hon Zuweira Lariba Abudu, Hon Gifty Twum Ampofo amongst others and replaced by men during the NPP parliamentary primaries on Saturday, Hon Otiko Afisah Djaba said that, there is the need to take steps to protect women who break the glass ceiling in politics despite the long-standing patriarchal structures that have traditionally kept women away from the public eye.

According to her, the current number of women (40 out of 275) in parliament as it stands now represents just a minute portion of women in the country as women are more than men and this makes it difficult for their voices to be heard.

Hon Otiko Afisah Djaba said that the time has come for us to take deliberate steps to address the misrepresentation of women in key political and leadership roles in the country instead of lip service. 

She also said that there is a need for a strong political will to pass the Affirmative Action Bill if possible this year. This she says will ensure steady development in the country as has been done in countries like Rwanda.

She further called for a National Policy that will allow the Electoral Commission to put a caveat on political parties to present a specific number of females as parliamentary candidates before they are permitted to contest in the general elections and also called on the political parties to ensure that, they provide quotas to ensure they reserve their safe seats for only females to contest.

Hon Otiko Afisa Djaba charged all the female parliamentary aspirants in both political parties to start mentoring younger females to enable more females to take up key positions in politics.