Jane's Army of Women: Group courts support for NDC running mate

Ahead of the upcoming 2024 elections, a major grassroots organising movement aimed at building an infrastructure of volunteers ready to help break the glass ceiling for women in governance was inaugurated in Accra, on Friday 30, August 2024.

The event which took place at the Assembly Hall of St. Thomas Aquinas Senior High School was attended by several volunteer groups, Queen mothers and ordinary women folk.

The leadership of the ‘Jane’s Army of Women’ (JAW) says the movement is apolitical and will be working with volunteer groups and individuals across the country to organize and mobilise support for the 2024 presidential running mate of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor Jane Naana Opoku in the lead up to the December 7 general elections.

The group emphasized that it is seeking to mobilise women folk from all professional and political backgrounds across the length and breadth of Ghana in favour of Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman's vice presidential bid.

Speaking at the inauguration, the chairperson of the group, Lois Quarteng-Mensah, Esq. said the group is not just a group but a movement that is very rapidly taking root all over Ghana and is being supported by volunteers who want the best for the country, and believe in the powerful role women can play in restoring Ghana's fortunes, if given the opportunity to contribute to decision making at a very high level of Governance.

“We need a new beginning — a chance to pursue the real world change our country needs. Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang represents a vision of what is possible to girls in Ghana. Now is the time for the entire country to rise up and support Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang to get to the very top” Lois Quarteng-Mensah said.

She added that electing a critical mass of women with a diverse set of experiences is necessary to enable systematic change toward more inclusive policymaking, and that they will need all Ghanaian women, irrespective of their political persuasion to join them, set aside the old polarised politics that have kept us apart, and break the glass ceiling.

Other speakers at the launch stressed the importance of having women in leadership roles.

Nana Mozu VIII, Queenmother of Apremdo in the Ahanta Traditional Area, added her voice and averred that, "There can be no doubt that having women at senior levels in Government attracts other women, and also changes the overall political culture. Evidence suggests you need a critical mass of women in leadership positions to make a big difference."

JAW has also indicated that it will be massively represented at the upcoming Fetu Afahye Orange Friday Street Carnival in Cape Coast, scheduled for Friday, 6 September 2024, to mobilise more support for their potential Vice President.

Prior to their inaugural ceremony, Women in "Jane's Army of Women" branded t-shirts had been sighted at several events such as during the festivals of both Agortime and Ziope in the Volta Region, as well as at the Homowo Twin festival and the Womba street carnival a couple of weeks ago.