The National Democratic Congress (NDC) branch in Amsterdam, Holland has descended heavily on Alhaji Iddrisu Bature, Managing Editor of Al Hajj Newspaper for making derogatory comments about women.

According to the NDC Amsterdam branch, Alhaji Bature described the entire New Patriotic Party (NPP) as a ‘Women’s Fellowship’ with “Fear and Panic” as their motto while commenting on the wrangling in the party.

The comment appeared to have ruffled the feathers of members of his own party.

The NDC Amsterdam Branch, in a release signed by its interim Chairman, A. Dodoo, condemned the pro-government editor and asked the Ministry of Gender and Social Protection to educate him.

“For the Managing Editor of the AL HAJJ newspaper to refer to the female gender in such a derogatory manner is unacceptable, and therefore we call on the Ministry of Gender Children and Social Protection to take this up and do its job in helping people like Alhaji Bature to understand that women are not weak, nor filled with fear, rather they are the backbone of any and every nation.

“Over the years, we have all seen and listened to the Managing Editor of the AL HAJJ newspaper wrestle with our minds in his bid to gain recognition and credibility, but each time he continues to fail to understand that ranting alone doesn’t get issues resolved, but rather offering concrete, practical and realistic solutions is what would catapult our development as a nation,” the branch said.

“Alhaji Bature may be upset with the way members of NPP are conducting themselves, but that shouldn’t give him the right to categorize women as vessels of fear and panic because the cause for gender equality in our world today has come a long way to give women their rightful place in society.

They said “so to try to put women back into the dark ages because NPP has lost its credibility isn’t a fair thing to say to or about the female gender.

“The Interim Executives of the NDC Amsterdam branch, along with its partners (NDC diasporian chapters) and Women’s Organizations in Ghana wishes to emphasize that public figures must be mindful of the perceptions they spit out on the radio and TV or other media outlets because the damage that it causes or creates can be very derogatory and beyond repair.

The release said “our government is empowering women from all walks of life, we have women that hold responsible positions of authority and are over performing their male counterparts, and we have to encourage that rather than the constant demeaning of our women.

“The AL HAJJ newspaper should know better, and begin to treat women with the respect and dignity they deserve. The comment made on Adom Fm by this individual is really unacceptable, and the Adom Fm presenter should have cautioned Alhaji Bature, and perhaps even asked him if his wife or wives or daughters were filled with fear and panic.”

“Women are and will remain the backbone of our society, so there is nothing wrong with being a woman. The Al Hajj Managing Editor needs to apologize for his comments and insinuation.”