Eminent Ghanaian women strive for peace
Ghana has started a process to institute a Women’s Situation Room (WSR) to tap into the expertise of women to prevent or mitigate conflicts that could lead to violence in the just-ended Presidential and parliamentary elections.
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WSR Ghana is a women’s peace-building mechanism that mitigates conflict before, during and after elections. The group, which consists of a regional set of eminent Ghanaian women and public opinion leaders, together with their international counterparts from across Africa, had been involved in a peace-building process for about six months in the run-up to the December 7 polls.
An initiative mooted after the Liberian civil war, the WSR is a non-partisan process that mobilises women in collaboration with the youth to engage stakeholders to support women’s call for peaceful elections; as a peace and security measure, in accordance with the United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325.
Leadership
Led by Eminent Ghanaian Women, including Ms Gertrude Oforiwa Fefoame, Prof. Ama Ata Aidoo, Ms Afi Yakubu, Hajia Safuratu M. Andabi, Naa Koteitsoo Afrasomanaso I, Ms Sabina Ofori Boateng and Prof. Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, the goal of WSR Ghana, which was launched in Accra this year, is to eliminate obstacles to women’s participation in electoral processes.
The group initiated programmes and activities to campaign heavily to draw the attention of Ghanaians to the horrendous consequences of electoral violence, especially violence against women in all its forms, which has been identified as a major obstacle to women’s involvement in political affairs.
Prior to the December 7 election, WSR-Ghana particularly impressed upon the leadership of the two major political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), to affirm their absolute commitment to a successful ballot.
WSR also employed several peace-building mechanisms and diverse activities across the 10 regions of Ghana to ensure a peaceful electoral process in Ghana’s presidential and parliamentary elections.
In order to enhance the active involvement of women in mitigating the incidence of violence, WSR organised a special workshop for the women organisers of the six main political parties (NPP, NDC, PPP, CPP, NDP and PNC) to highlight the role they must play to ensure peace in the electioneering process and to pledge their commitment to contribute to peace building.
Peace march
Again, WSR organised a nationwide 1,000 Women Peace March in all the 10 regional capitals of Ghana participated by several women groups who openly displayed their unfaltering call for peace before, during and after the election, hence demanding the commitment of the major political parties to commit to peace irrespective of the outcome of the election.
Moreover, WSR challenged the youth of Ghana to pledge their readiness to commit to peace by passing a Youth Peace Torch through all the 90 identified hotspots and across the 10 regional capitals.
The Youth Peace Torch Programme immensely trumpeted the need for the youth to act peacefully before, during and after the December 7 election on radio and on social media platforms, coupled with the Youth Peace Torch Float through the principal streets of selected towns and cities.
Focal persons
WSR again deployed 120 focal persons to 90 hotspots to identify and report early warning signs which had the potential of actuating election-related violence, especially against women. The activities of the focal persons were beefed up by the introduction of a Toll Free number which allowed all persons to report any incidence of violence to the physical situation room set up by WSR.
At a press conference addressed by a member of the Eminent Ghanaian Women of the WSR, Prof. Akua Kuenyehia, in Accra recently, the group recommended that more women be added at all levels of their parties' structures and as candidates for parliamentary election in future polls.
WSR also congratulated Ghanaians on the peaceful conduct of the December 7 general election, adding, "We acknowledge the contributions of all stakeholders to the peaceful election in Ghana."
Since its inception in Africa in 2011, in Liberia, the WSR Liberia has contributed immensely to the realisation of peaceful elections in many other countries across Africa – in Senegal and Sierra Leone in 2012, Kenya in 2013, Mali in 2013, Guinea Bissau in 2014, Nigeria in 2015 and Uganda in 2016.
