Speakers at a workshop on strategies for developing female candidates for local and national elections have described the low number of women in positions in Parliament and in political party structures as a dent on the democratic process. They argued that since women made up at least 51 per cent of the population, if their numbers in political positions were not enough, then those institutions, especially Parliament, was not representative enough. The speakers were Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin of ABANTU for Development, Ms Ursula Owusu, a legal and gender consultant, and Mrs Maria Lavelle, Counsellor of the Canadian High Commission. The three-day workshop, which was organised by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), in collaboration with the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, at Akosombo was on the theme, “Political parties’ strategy for developing female candidates and national elections”. According to Dr Mensah-Kutin, the development of the country and the promotion of democracy could only be meaningful and effective if they relied on all the population, including women. She said it was not only women who had been sidelined but other groups such as the youth and they must be considered for greater inclusiveness in all spheres of the democratic structural positions and processes. She added that to address these imbalances, there was the need to review the electoral system and the political culture as a whole, all with the view to ensuring that all groups, especially women, were made to increase their numbers in areas where decisions were taken. Ms Owusu buttressed her argument with a quote from the Beijing Platform for Action which states that “Without the active participation of women and the incorporation of women’s perspective in all levels of decision making, the goals of equality, development and peace cannot be achieved.” She said locally and internationally, it had been realised that the exclusion of women from governance was a major factor in the underdevelopment of most countries, as the society was deprived of the benefit of their expertise, knowledge and skills. “Equal participation of both sexes in decision making will provide a balance that accurately reflects the composition of society and this will strengthen democracy and promote its proper functioning. This, is turn, will help us to attain the constitutional imperative of gender balance in all aspects of public life,” she added. Ms Owusu said the perpetual under-representation or exclusion of women was tantamount to “working while one hand, the most productive hand, was tied behind your back, as women form more than 50 per cent of the population”. Concerning the excuse given by most competent women that politics was a dirty game and, therefore, it put them off, she explained that the participation of women in politics and governance would create a new political culture and sanitise the system, as women would bring a different focus and perspective to matters generally. “Women understand their issues better and can represent their own needs and interests in terms of finding and implementing solutions to them, more effectively than men. An increase in the participation of women will also enrich the political discourse,” she noted. Mrs Lavelle said a strong and vibrant democracy was possible only when Parliament was fully inclusive of the population, adding, “Parliament cannot consider itself inclusive until it can boast the full participation of women.” She noted that changing attitudes towards the political participation of women and sensitising the political system to accept women required co-ordinated efforts at various levels by the government, Parliament, other decision-making bodies, political parties, civil society organisations, the media and the family unit. Source: Daily Graphic