Dakoa Newman
The Affirmative Action Bill has passed its second major hurdle in the House of Parliament, but it faces a tough road ahead as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, Haruna Iddrisu, warns of “void clauses” in the legislation and “one man, one wife” comments from female MPs.
The bill was introduced on June 14, 2024 by the Minister of Education on behalf of the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection.
It is a comprehensive package of measures, which has gained cross-party support and is widely welcomed by many Ghanaians, including civil society organisations, to support women empowerment and development.
The bill importantly will introduce the first ever statutory definition of affirmative action and measures to effectively address socio-cultural, economic and political gender imbalance in the country, stemming from historical discrimination, the unequal participation of both males and females in development processes.
The bill, which consists of 34 clauses and six schedules, also seeks to provide an accountability framework for gender equality, and the empowerment of women.
In a withering rebuke to the idea that the passage of the bill will ensure one-man-one-wife model, Haruna Iddrisu, MP for Tamale South, said it would be “repugnant” to the Islamic Region to legislate such a notion, which was proposed by Ada MP Comfort Doyoe Cudjoe.
The former Minority Leader also stated that the bill was doomed to fail since some of its parts were void, citing one as a strategy to promote the employment of pregnant women.
According to him, the bill again makes references to independent constitutional bodies – Auditor General, Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), Electoral Commission (EC), National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), National Media Commission (NMC) – and wondered if the proposals therein can be achieved.
However, the Deputy Majority Leader, Patricia Appiagyei said the government acknowledges that public education, sensitisation and effective engagement is key to securing that needed support for the implementation.
“Accordingly, a comprehensive communication strategy has been developed,” she added, and continued that communication activities will be used to engage the public and all other stakeholders to solicit support and provide clarity.
“We have proposed amendments that the members are taking note of,” the Asokwa MP indicated.
By Ernest Kofi Adu, Parliament House