Two women’s right groups have expressed their indignation at the increasing rate of attacks on women who take up leadership positions in the country.

“Unfortunately, we have sat in our comfort zones of incredulity, that now these abhorrent, vile, incendiary and contemptible verbal attacks are passing the threshold into threats of death,” the two groups said.

The two groups are ABANTU for Development and the Women’s Manifesto Coalition (WMC).

Personal attacks

A statement signed by the Executive Director of ABANTU, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said the recent personal attacks and abuse and now the threat of death on the Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Jean Mensa, were “revolting, horrendous, awful and unacceptable”.

“We are deeply saddened that women in leadership positions have faced multiple insults and acts of degradation over the years while performing their assigned and constitutionally mandated duties,” the statement added.

It noted that women in Ghana had in recent times managed to ascend to very high-profile positions of leadership, some for the first time such as the first woman Chief Justice, Mrs Justice Georgina Theodora Wood; the first woman Electoral Commissioner, Mrs Charlotte Osei, and the first woman Speaker of Parliament, Mrs Justice Joyce Adeline Bamford-Addo.

“These women and others served under the barrage of vitriol and threats, approval and disapproval from various sections of our citizenry. Nevertheless, they contributed in no small way, in progressing the aspirations and motivations of so many other women and helped push the nation’s required mandate of promoting women in institutional arrangements for sustainable development,” it said.

Support to women

The statement said the two women rights groups had been consistent in their support and defence of women in national policy and decision spaces and as organisations.

“We will continue to advocate the need for Ghana to hold itself accountable to its constitutional mandate of increasing women’s equal participation and representation in public policymaking and decision making at all levels,” it stated.

“We want to assure Mrs Jean Mensa that we recognise the difficulties associated with serving in such a combative position as the Electoral Commissioner trying to satisfy strong diverse political viewpoints in the hope of delivering universally acceptable democratic and electoral outcomes,” the two groups added. #Ghanavotes2020