Ursula Owusu-Ekuful
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) Member of Parliament (MP) for Ablekuma West constituency Ursula Owusu-Ekuful has lamented that it’s becoming difficult to attain political leadership as women in the party and the country as a whole.
"The political terrain is skewed in favour of men and the whole country… they are just giving us little space to operate as if they are doing us a favour, but we need to recognise that women form 31% of the population, and we are indispensable to the holistic development of our country," she indicated.
The MP for Ablekuma West explained that it’s becoming increasingly difficult for women to hold their heads up in the political space in the country.
‘If we think we need women in governance, then we need to rethink our way of conducting politics in the country and make it a bit more women friendly, as it is now it’s very difficult for women in the political sphere in this country,’ she observed.
Speaking on Ultimate breakfast show hosted by Prince Minkah, she bemoaned that the NPP’s international structures do not favour women.
‘It’s really tough and not many stand up against the daily challenges that we face, externally and internally and this is not just about political opponent, even the internal structures in our party are not conducive for full participation of women. And no matter how hard you try it’s as if they are beginning to double their heels,’ she asserted.
According to her, the NPP is seen as not women friendly, urging the party leadership to work on making women attractive for positions.
‘So the party has a challenge, and it’s not that I want to air our dirty linen. But increasingly we are been seen as not been accommodating to women and we need to do extra to make us more attractive women, we are there we want to work. But somehow when we go through election process, it throws out the women’.
"But the party that articulates the rights of women, for me being a women’s rights activist in NPP, am particularly distressed that the results from the ground seem to demonstrate that the leadership of the party which is trying to move the party into a more women friendly is out of sync with the voting population of the party," she pointed out.
Mrs. Owusu-Ekuful expressed dissatisfaction that its only the Women’s Organiser who is a female represented on the National Executives of the party, adding that the party refused to make provisions for women to be part of appointed positions.
"So it’s not surprising that its only the Women’s Organiser who makes it unto other positions being put in place by the party, when you juxtapose that against the previous national executives which had three women, we have come down to one woman, and even the appointed positions…they could have appoint more women to make up for the shortfall," she said.
