Empowering women to harness their potentials is the magic wand to foster the development of any society or a nation, and Ghana is not alien to the rule.
It cannot be ruled out that there are certain traditional beliefs and cultural practices in some parts of Africa including Ghana that militate against women and to some extent prevent them from fully contributing to national development.
Such practices apart from denying society the skills, experience and competence of women needed for the overall national development also prevent them from realising their full potentials.
Successive post-independence governments have embraced women's empowerment in one form or another, either because of their own ideological positioning, or because of demands by donor partners or organised domestic groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
Before the political parties launched their 2012 manifestoes and election campaigns, they were called upon by civil society organisations including international bodies to ensure that they gave adequate room for women participation in every endeavour to enhance the development of the nation.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), Progressive People's Party, (PPP) and Convention People's Party (CPP) yielded somehow to the call by giving adequate room for women to contest the Parliamentary Election.
In all, 133 women were given the opportunity to file to contest the 2012 Parliamentary Election. Other political parties like the CPP and PPP selected women as their running mates.
The women who contested in this year's Parliamentary Election represented a 30 per cent increase as compared with Election 2008. The figure represented the highest number of women who have contested parliamentary seats in Ghana's political history.
Greater Accra Region fielded the highest number of 34, followed by Ashanti Region, which recorded 26 women contesting and 15 in the Central Region.
The rest are Western Region 12, Eastern Region 10, Volta Region seven, Northern Region six, Upper East Region five and Upper West Region five.
The number of women who would be going into Parliament in 2013 now stands at 29 which is a significant improvement over the last elections.
There is the need to pat the back of the political parties and gender activists and the Media including the international organisations for making this possible.
Notwithstanding the fact that Members of Parliament like NPP's Catherine Afeku and Samia Yaaba Nkrumah of the CPP lost their re-election bid some veterans managed to cling onto their seats.
New entrants including Alijata Sulemana, former Sissala East District Chief Executive, Hannah Bissiw, Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing and Ursula Owusu, a Lawyer and all the others who have distinguished themselves in their careers would advance the cause of women.
There is however more room for improvement. For instance, in Africa, Ghana with 8.3 per cent female representation in parliament ranks higher than Botswana which has 7.9 per cent followed by The Gambia with 7.5 per cent, Congo with 7.4, per cent, Nigeria 6.8 per cent and Egypt 2.0 per cent.
Globally Ghana ranks 122 out of 190 countries according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
This trend is not the best for Ghana and all hands must be put on deck to reverse it. Whilst commending the political parties for the good job done there is still more to do.
Political parties should continue to robe in and encourage more women to take up leadership positions.
There is the need for President John Dramani Mahama Administration to appoint more women into the Ministerial positions. The NDC should also increase the appointment of women head of departments and as District Chief Executives.
The National House of Chiefs must also be commended for making it possible for the inclusion of women in the House particularly in Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions.
Hitherto in the three regions there were no Queen Mothers in the House of Chiefs and this affected decision making pertaining to the welfare of women and children, but thank God this problem is being addressed as more houses of chiefs are facilitating the enskinment of more queen mothers.
As the District Assembly election is scheduled to take place in 2014 it is very crucial for stakeholders particularly NGOs to start encouraging and building the capacity of more women to contest.
Lets us have a day when there would be more women in Parliament. Lets us have a day when the country would have a woman as the President of Ghana.
The Media must also champion the cause of affirmative action whilst women must stand up in an assertive manner and take up the leadership mantle.