Former running mate of the Convention People’s Party in 2012, Susan Adu Amankwah has urged men to play a supportive role to enable women take part in active politics and achieve their optimum aim in life.

Speaking on PM Express Personality Profile, on JoyNews MultiTV, she said “there is an ambition gap between genders, which prevents them (women) from aspiring for the highest offices and positions and of course the culture obstacle, which portrays men as risk takers than women”.

With these cultural favours, she said, men see such offices and positions as their responsibility, which shouldn’t be the case.

Politics, according to Madam Adu Amankwah is about the administration of resources, sharing these resources equitably and making sure that the common good is achieved by everybody.

Women, being the majority in society, according to Madam Adu Amankwah, should take part in the type of politics which would bring development to the people.

“Leadership role for woman is nurturing and not a sub servant to a man (walk along-side role). The limited number of women at key positions hinder their influence on large number of up-coming women”, she said.

The pharmacist, medical researcher, public health specialist also said women are stronger species than men with protective hormones against heart attack at a younger age among others.

She however said, “society had taken women’s biological make-up and exaggerated its importance at certain levels to hinder their progress (for instance the child caring role), which ensures that women don’t have the same amount of time or focus as men”.

Society and Culture she says have made the “child caring” role so prominent in a women’s life that it deprives her of active political experience to achieve the highest position.

“There are roles for men and women, but it doesn’t mean we cannot change roles depending on the circumstance we found ourselves. We should all be equipped to deal with situations if they arrive”, she stated.

Men being the head, is a historical antecedent foreign to us as Ghanaians. In early history, it was the women who took decisions and had the power- which is evident in the role of powerful female chiefs, even here in Ghana. Yaa Asantewaa comes to mind often when we speak about  women empowerment in Ghana

Despite these views, Madam Susan Adu Amankwah strongly believes Ghana is not yet ready for a female president.

“Society must change, first” she said.

“For a woman be in a position, she must be ten times better than the man; and really justify over and over again why she is there. She may be as good as the man but must be ten times as the man”, she continued.

“We need affirmative action, and do what Dr. Kwame Nkrumah did. We have seats that are for women, to compete, to groom them and stay for a term of office.      

The Convention People’s Party, (CPP) CPP has not organised itself in such a way that, no matter how small it is, women “can still shout from the biggest megaphone for our voice to be heard, since we have the most fantastic message and must preach at the grass root level”.

“The people who must change this country and the voting pattern are the middle class people, it doesn’t matter either NPP or NDC who are in power, we must look at the message and messenger”

She said, “We have to take the leap of faith with us and vote for the CPP”.