West Africa's political landscape is getting called out hard, and women plus youth being locked out of governance is now officially a regional crisis on the agenda.
ECOFEPA's Senator Moussokoura sets the tone in Accra
ECOFEPA's Senator Moussokoura sets the tone in Accra
- Senator Chantal Fanny Moussokoura flat-out declared that no democracy can pull through when women get pushed out of political leadership.
- Moussokoura framed the Regional Consultation on Political Participation and Leadership of Women and Youth in West Africa as a historic and decisive gathering.
- Women and youth make up the majority of West Africa's population, yet political decision-making spaces keep shutting them out.
- Quotas, affirmative action policies, and gender-sensitive electoral systems are the bold fixes Moussokoura is pushing for.
- Ministers and key stakeholders got pulled together under the Economic Community of West African States to hash out strategies for gender parity in elected bodies between 2025 and 2035.
- Legal, cultural, economic, and institutional roadblocks are all being examined at the consultation.
- A draft declaration on gender parity is headed to the Authority of Heads of State for consideration.
- Participants are building a collective roadmap tied to ECOWAS Vision 2050, the African Union's Agenda 2063, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
- Vice President Damtien Tchintchibidja spotlighted the ECOWAS 50th Anniversary Legacy Project as the structural backbone for lasting political inclusion.
- A Presidential Political Declaration and co-created regional guidelines will anchor the whole framework.
- Ministers handling gender equality got told to see themselves as architects of this legacy project, not just passive stakeholders.
- Hon. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey reaffirmed Ghana's commitment to pushing women's and youth political participation across West Africa.
- President John Dramani Mahama's alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063, and the ECOWAS Gender Policy got a firm shoutout from Lartey.