Konadu Moves Women To Another Level

Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has washed away every shred of excuse Ghanaian women must have used in the past to virtually stay away from actively competing for top political positions.

Nana Konadu contesting for the flagbearership of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and pitching her will against a sitting President ample demonstrates women of this country can, on their own, compete for top positions with their male counterparts.

Hitherto, a situation was created such that women have used discrimination by men not to challenge for higher political positions and always looked for a certain percentage of posts to be reserved for them. However, Mrs. Rawlings’ bold undertaking has shown it is time Ghanaian women get out of their comfort zone and venture into the hot arena of politics to compete vigorously with their male counterparts. Women have over the years demonstrated they have the capacity to do so if they take the imitative. Long before the former first lady broke the glass ceiling to challenge for the leadership of the NDC, the Queen mother of Ejisu, Yaa Asantewaa defied all odds to lead the great army of the Ashanti kingdom into battle against the British. Yaa Asantewaa might not have been able to accomplish what she set out to do but she is revered today and mentioned among the pacesetters in history because of the initiative she took to lead the fight against the British.

People may have forgotten the feats of Yaa Asantewaa and other Ghanaian women of the past, but women have already charted a course in history which remains a reference point when discussing women leadership.

In modern Ghana politics, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, Chief Justice, Mrs. Georgina Wood and Speaker of Parliament, the Hon. Joyce Bamford Addo have demonstrated women can provide good leadership when they assert themselves. Mrs. Rawlings has demonstrated that the Ghanaian political scene is no more a man’s domain and that women can break into it and challenge anybody for the highest job if they so determine. There are already women heading big institutions in the country and not only that, there are also a fair percentage of them among some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the country. However, despite proving they have what it takes to make a mark in all spheres of life, even some of the most assertive women have shun the competition in active politics, waiting mostly for political positions to be offered them. The landscape has changed now, however, courtesy Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings. Women need to take a cue from the former First lady and henceforth make the first move by offering themselves for political positions. Not only that, they should also be ready and determined to battle opponents to secure the post they seek.

Over the years, there have been calls for a percentage of seats in Parliament to be reserved for women, which also found its way into government when the President, John Evans Atta Mills promised to reserve 40% of appointments in his administration for women. This promise could not be fulfilled despite the President’s determination, simply because not enough women offered themselves, especially for the positions of MMDCEs.

Nana Konadu has built on the foundation Yaa Asantewaa laid over a hundred years ago. It is for the rest of Ghanaian women to get up and be counted along with Nana Konadu and Yaa Asantewaa.

As witnessed in homes with our mothers and sisters, every Ghanaian woman has a bit of Yaa Asantewaa in them and over the weekend Nana Konadu showed it takes determination and just one decision to bring out all that hidden strength. And the tide she started has already started the wash with daughter of Ghana’s first president, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, Hon. Samia Nkrumah gunning for the chairmanship of the Convention People’s Party, and many more others in the coming days.

Mrs. Rawlings failed in her bid to lead the NDC for the 2012 elections, but she won a major battle in clearing the last impediment in women’s push for top political positions. And where she failed today, many women would succeed tomorrow because of the platform she provided them at Sunyani.