President Akufo-Addo’s commitment towards gender parity is unwavering despite incessant attacks on him by some gender advocates in the country, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama has stated.
According to her the number of females appointed by the President in his government was enough proof of his commitment to the cause of women and must be supported to ensure that women in the country received the recognition they desired.
At the World Women’s Conference held in Toronto Canada on Tuesday the President was said to have indicated that not enough activism and dynamism had been demonstrated by women groups to get them to the decision making table where the policies are made.
However, the comment sparked an outrage among some feminists and gender advocates in the country calling on the President to render an unqualified apology to women in general.
Addressing the media in Accra yesterday, Hajia Mahama who was accompanied by the Minister of Communications, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and the Coordinator of the One District One Factory Secretariat, Mrs Gifty Ohene Konadu said the President’s comment had been misconstrued.
She said the statement was more of a call to action for women to use their agency to amplify their concerns rather than an insult and it must spur women on to do more for themselves.
“President Akufo-Addo did no wrong because he was calling on women to use their agency to amplify their voice in decision making positions,” she added.
Hajia Mahama said the President had exhibited and championed much commitment towards women empowerment and no amount of bad mouthing could take that away from him.
On her part, Mrs Owusu-Ekuful said she was shocked at the way and manner some former female appointees of the erstwhile administration had taken the issue out of contest and vilifying the President.
She said those persons were being hypocritical on the issue since they were same individuals who defended the cause of some men when they threatened and insulted the first female chief justice for our country.
“The President has challenged us and we should take up that challenge. We thank him for waking us up to do more as women,” she stressed.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms Botchwey noted that those criticising the President were only doing so to score cheap political points but they must remember that there was a silent majority of women who were equally concerned about such insulting women.
She noted that female activism was not about insulting and bad mouthing but rather a call to ensure that women were empowered to achieve their desired goals.
By Cliff Ekuful
