A leading advocate wants Ghana to strengthen its new gender equality law. Lawyer Sheila Minkah-Premo heads the Affirmative Action Law Coalition and spoke at a meeting Tuesday. She believes the current law will not work well without changes. The lawyer said political parties face no penalties when they ignore the rules. She wants lawmakers to add stronger requirements that force compliance.
The law tells political parties to follow gender targets but does not punish them for refusing. Minkah-Premo explained that Section 20 only encourages parties to participate. She thinks this approach makes the law weak and ineffective. The advocate believes constitutional changes could fix these problems. She wants Ghana to copy other nations that require specific percentages of women leaders.
Ghana must change Articles 93 and 94 of its 1992 Constitution according to Minkah-Premo. These sections would need updates before stronger gender rules can take effect. Some countries already put women representation numbers directly into their founding documents. This approach makes it harder for political groups to avoid the requirements. The lawyer thinks similar changes would help Ghana achieve better results.
The Centre for Democratic Development organized Tuesday's discussion with partner groups. Abantu for Development and the Global Centre for Pluralism helped plan the event. Officials from the Gender Ministry announced plans to create a new oversight committee. This Gender Equity Committee will watch how institutions follow the new law. The committee represents a key part of making the legislation work across Ghana.
The law tells political parties to follow gender targets but does not punish them for refusing. Minkah-Premo explained that Section 20 only encourages parties to participate. She thinks this approach makes the law weak and ineffective. The advocate believes constitutional changes could fix these problems. She wants Ghana to copy other nations that require specific percentages of women leaders.
Ghana must change Articles 93 and 94 of its 1992 Constitution according to Minkah-Premo. These sections would need updates before stronger gender rules can take effect. Some countries already put women representation numbers directly into their founding documents. This approach makes it harder for political groups to avoid the requirements. The lawyer thinks similar changes would help Ghana achieve better results.
The Centre for Democratic Development organized Tuesday's discussion with partner groups. Abantu for Development and the Global Centre for Pluralism helped plan the event. Officials from the Gender Ministry announced plans to create a new oversight committee. This Gender Equity Committee will watch how institutions follow the new law. The committee represents a key part of making the legislation work across Ghana.
