Political parties must put measures in place to encourage women to aim at occupying other important positions within the party than inadvertently limiting them to the Women’s Organiser slot, Dr. Wunpini Fatimata Mohammed, an assistant professor of Global Media Industries at the College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia has advised.

According to her, the culture of women being limited to a portfolio with direct link to the women’s wing is not only obsolete; it fuels assertions that women are not capable enough occupy certain positions in organisations.

Welcoming news of the appointment of Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as the running mate of John Dramani Mahama, the 2020 flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Wunpini stated that it was heartwarming for a qualified female to have been given the nod.

“This election season is going to be interesting but one of the things I’m scared about is the sexism that we’re going to see. We’ve already started seeing that,” she said while adding that “her nomination is important. It is a big deal within Ghanaian politics… especially for a major political party to do that; that is a lot.”

Dr. Wunpini indicated that a number of women are capable of serving in different capacities within political parties but have not been given the chance to prove their mettle.

She told GhanaWeb: “The NDC and NPP need to change the gender politics embedded in their own political parties. Women should not just be banished to the Women’s Organiser role. They should be encouraged; conditions should be created within the system to make sure that a woman can run for chairperson, secretary of the party and win rather than discourage them.”

The feminist argued that women are mostly denied the opportunity to serve due to the failures of fellow women but wondered why the narrative is not the same when men fail.

“We need to move away from this whole idea that if a woman is elected and they fail, it is a failure for all women. When a man fails in their position of power, it doesn’t become a failure for all men. We need to treat women with the humanity that we afford men,” she advised.