Last Friday, gender activists might have been disappointed with the announcement of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumiah as the running mate of the ruling NPP. Before the announcement, women activists went to lengths to argue for a woman to be considered for the position. There was similar intense lobbying in the opposition NDC before John Mahama was chosen ahead of Mrs. Betty Mould Iddrisu.
Now the political lense will focus on the CPP, the PNC and the other parties as to whether they will heed the call by gender activists to choose women as their running mates. If these parties could guarantee that a woman Vice Presidential candidate could turn the vote in their favour, then they can go for it. Statistics indicate that women form more than half the population, which arguably makes them a force to reckon with. But the question, most people want answers to is whether Ghanaians are ready for a woman to be a Number Two person in the land.
There is no doubt that a number of females continue to excel in both public and private positions. Unfortunately, the successes chalked-up by women leaders in all spheres of national life at times get drowned when the failures of a few of them come up. May be the challenge now is for gender activists to make conscious effort to celebrate women achievers from the Academia through business, agriculture, law and even the family. Any attempt to enumerate women who have occupied top positions both in private and public organisations cannot be exhausted. But the most recent that comes to mind is how the University of Cape Coast made history by appointing Ghana ’s first female Vice Chancellor. There is a popular saying that nothing ventured nothing gained, so if the political parties do not put women into the second highest position of the land, how can their performance be assessed. One concedes that administering the ship of state, is not a thing to gamble with, but there is ample evidence that given the chance, the Ghanaian woman when given the chance can make it.
The opposition to women taking the vice Presidential slot, could be attributed to certain cultural practices. But culture is dynamic. Even in some conservative countries, women have assumed the position of Presidents and Prime Ministers. Ghanaians should not allow cultural beliefs to deny the nation the good leadership qualities of women at the Presidency. May be the radical position for women to take is to translate their numbers into votes for the party that nominates a woman as running mate. It is likely this radical position can make the parties re-think their position and even give women the chance to contest for the Number One job on the land, which is the President. The NDC and NPP have announced their running mates. They might have considered a number of factors before settling on John Mahama and Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia.
Though people calling for females might have been disappointed, they should not give up. They should direct their energies into getting more female elected into Parliament. While female representation in Ghana ’s Parliament is still not appreciable, at least those who have been elected have time without number proven that they are a force to reckon with. The few women in Parliament have on not more than one occasion succeeded in getting their majority male folks to support legislations in relation to Domestic Violence, Child Protection and Women Rights in general. The struggle for women to be at the top echelon of the Ghanaian society must continue.
Women, who by dint of hard work have attained top positions in both public and private spheres of national life, have a greater responsibility to set high standards. By this way, talk for them to ascend the highest position of the land will be a foregone conclusion, because their good works will speak volumes about them. If women do not get the opportunity to be running mates in the December elections, they should not be discouraged. Hopefully, they can still make their strong voice heard in the 2012 election where they should attempt to secure the Presidential slot of the political parties.
The Good Old Book has emphasized that he that is responsible in few things, can take up more responsibilities in future. Let us see Ghanaian women exhibit the highest standard in their current roles, and it will be a matter of time, when they will assume captain position to steer the affairs of the nation. Long live the Ghanaian woman and Long live Ghana ’s Democracy.
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