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Politics of Friday, 10 July 2020

Source: classfmonline.com

Volta NDC women throw weight behind Opoku-Agyemang

Former Education Minister, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang Former Education Minister, Prof Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang

The Women’s Wing of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Volta Region has given their full support to the choice of running mate by the Party’s flagbearer, calling on all Ghanaian women to vote massively for the NDC to make Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang the next Vice President of Ghana.

A statement issued by the women said voting for the NDC will “help make a case for women empowerment and gender equality,” adding that, a woman in the high office of Vice President is a big boost for the fight for women’s rights and peculiar challenges as this will help push key issues such as gender equality and discrimination to the spotlight.

“This is the first time in the political history of Ghana that one of the few dominant political parties (at least in the fourth republic) has pushed a woman this high up on the political organogram, and that is what the NDC is noted for. A woman finds her name on a major political party’s presidential ticket for the first time in Ghana’s history, and dialogue about gender equality and key issues like sexual violence, gender discrimination, and a woman’s right to choose would eventually be pushed into the spotlight more forcefully,” the statement said.

The statement continued: “Now, why does this matter for women and girls in Ghana and around the world? It’s simple: in the NDC, we believe that women’s political empowerment and equal participation is one of the critical building blocks for women’s rights, along with the right to live free from discrimination, imagine the positive benefits for democracy, peace-building, and legislation if every woman had an equal shot at the presidency, or have a significantly active."

The flag bearer of the NDC, Mr John Dramani Mahama, chose Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate on 6 July 2020.

Prof Opoku-Agyemang served as a former Minister of Education under the erstwhile Mahama administration.

Professor Opoku-Agyemang is also a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast and the first female Vice-Chancellor of a state university in Ghana.

She is the first woman to be chosen as running mate by the NDC in the party’s democratic dispensation.

Many women’s groups such as African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), the Ghana Chapter of International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Ghana) among others have applauded her on her appointment.

She will become Ghana’s first female Vice President should John Mahama win the December election.