Dr. Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, founder of the Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA), has responded to the New Patriotic Party (NPP) National Women’s Organiser, Hawa Koomson, over her criticism of Ghana’s Vice-President, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, following Koomson’s remarks that the Vice-President was “disgracing women.”
In a statement, Dr. Hamah stressed that Professor Opoku-Agyemang must be recognised as a national leader and assessed based on her responsibilities as Vice-President, rather than being judged solely on issues affecting women and girls because she is Ghana’s first female Vice-President. Her position challenges the expectation that the Vice-President must be held to gender-specific standards simply because she is a woman occupying one of the country’s highest political offices.
Dr. Victoria Hamah reiterated that the Vice President must be recognised and assessed as a national leader rather than being treated as the default person responsible for every challenge confronting women and girls.
The organisation stressed that although the protection of women’s and girls’ rights remains a national priority, the responsibility cannot be placed disproportionately on one public official simply because she is a woman.
“Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang is the Vice President of Ghana, not merely the Vice President for women and girls,” portions of the statement read.
POWA argued that the Vice President’s responsibilities extend across the full spectrum of national governance, including economic transformation, education, institutional development, social protection and international relations.
According to the organisation, focusing excessively on her gender when assessing her performance risks undermining the broader significance of her historic election to the country’s second-highest political office.
“Her historic achievement should broaden the horizons of women’s leadership, not limit the scope of her responsibilities,” POWA stated.
The organisation said it would be contradictory for society to celebrate the appointment of Ghana’s first female Vice President while simultaneously expecting her public identity and leadership to revolve almost exclusively around issues affecting women.
It maintained that women in political leadership must be recognised as capable of contributing to every sector of national development, rather than being confined to responsibilities traditionally associated with their gender.
POWA acknowledged that women in leadership have an important role to play in promoting gender equality, protecting vulnerable groups and advancing policies that improve the welfare of women and girls.
However, it argued that these responsibilities must be exercised within the framework of institutional mandates, collective governance and the rule of law.
The organisation warned against imposing additional expectations on the Vice President that would not ordinarily be placed on her male counterparts.
“A woman’s attainment of high political office must not create additional expectations that would not ordinarily be imposed on her male counterparts,” the statement said.
POWA also drew attention to the existing state institutions mandated to address concerns affecting women, children and vulnerable persons.
These include the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection; the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service; the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ); and the courts.
The organisation called for these institutions to be adequately resourced, empowered and held accountable for carrying out their respective duties.
It argued that while the Vice President can support policy reforms, promote coordination among institutions and advocate stronger protections for women and girls, she cannot be expected to assume the responsibilities of agencies legally mandated to investigate complaints, protect victims, enforce the law and administer justice.
“Institutional responsibility must be respected,” POWA further emphasised.
The organisation further urged members of the public and political actors to distinguish between the legitimate expectation that national leaders should support women’s rights and what it considers the unreasonable demand that one individual should personally account for every incident affecting women and girls.
POWA maintained that the Vice President must remain open to legitimate public scrutiny, just like every other public official, but insisted that such scrutiny should be guided by the responsibilities of her office and the evidence available.
“Accountability should be evidence-based and proportionate to the responsibilities of the office concerned,” the statement noted.
It added that imposing gender-specific expectations on Professor Opoku-Agyemang solely because she is the first woman to occupy the office would be neither fair nor progressive.
POWA reiterated that protecting and advancing the welfare of women and girls requires the collective efforts of government, Parliament, law enforcement agencies, the judiciary, civil society organisations, traditional authorities, families and communities.
The organisation called on political parties to prioritise the protection and advancement of women above partisan interests and to encourage public debate that strengthens institutions and contributes to national development.
“We call on all political parties to place the protection and advancement of women above partisan consideration and to promote a political culture in which women leaders are assessed fairly, institutions are held accountable, and public debate contributes meaningfully to national development,” the statement further added.
About The Author
