CSOs demands passage of Affirmative Action Bill into Law

Civil society organisations (CSOs), have called on the government to pass the Affirmative Action Bill into Law, to encourage more women participation in the decision making process.

The CSOs made up of the Regional Inter-sectoral Gender Network (RISEGNET), Action Aid Ghana (AAG), Past and Present Assembly Women Association, queen mothers, and women heads of department made the call in a communiqué at the end of a public durbar held in Bolgatanga on Tuesday.

The durbar, which was organised by RISEGNET and sponsored by AAG, attracted about 150 participants.

It was on the theme: “Advocacy for the Passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into Law.”

The CSOs argued that women participation and representation in the decision was a right recognised under the charter on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Protocol of African Charter on Human Rights of which Ghana was a signatory.

“We wonder why it has taken the government so long to pass the Bill into law. The proposed Affirmative Action Bill final draft was validated in Koforidua on Tuesday 30thMay 2013.”

The Chairman of RISEGNET, Mr Daud James Abang-Gos, impressed upon the government, to take a cue from Rwanda where the authorities gave more quota to women, which led to more women parliamentarians and political appointees than their male counterparts.

He stated that since independence no woman had ever headed the Upper Region now Upper East Region, spanning over seven successive governments.

He said no woman has also ever represented the region as a Council of State Member.

“As at now we have 23 elected assembly women as against 353 men elected in the region. Out of a total number of 153 government appointees to the various assemblies in the region 43 are women as against 110 appointees men.

“The region has a total of 529 assembly persons, only 66 are women both elected and appointed whilst the men are 463. All these negative practices are not only affecting the development of women but the entire national development as a whole”, the Chairman of RISEGNET stated.

The Programme Manager of AAG, Mr James Kusi Boama mentioned marginalisation of women in leadership positions, violence against women and negative cultural practices such as widowhood rites and female genital mutilation as some of the factors that violate fundamental human rights of women.

He noted that, it is only when the Affirmative Action Bill is passed into law that some of the challenges confronting women could be addressed.

He appealed to women to inculcate positive values in the girl -child so as to empower them develop good potentials.