Punish Kennedy Agyapong - Queenmothers appeal to Parliament
The Greater Accra Queen mothers Association has appealed to Parliament to take action against Mr Kennedy Agyapong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, for making undeserving comments about the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission (EC) , Mrs Charlotte Osei.
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The association says such an action against Mr Agyapong would serve as a deterrent to other members of the public, regardless of the gender of the person being insulted.
The queenmothers made the appeal at a press conference in Accra on Monday. The press conference was organised by them to register their displeasure at what they described as disrespect for the dignity of women.
Background
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) (MP) is reported to have accused the EC Chairperson of allegedly using sex favours in exchange for her current position.
He is reported to have made the accusation when he was addressing supporters of the NPP at Asokwa, a suburb of Kumasi, on June 28, 2016.
Subsequently, Mr Agyapong has been severely criticised by individuals, government institutions and groups for his comments.
Those criticising him include the Minister of Gender and Social Protection, Nana Oye Lithur, and a private legal practitioner, Ace Ankomah.
The queenmothers have also added their voice to calls to ensure that individuals in society were allowed to attain the highest level of their aspirations regardless of their gender.
Limitations
The Queenmother for Sempe-New Town Traditional Area, Naa Adoley Ablade, who read the press statement, said such accusations of sexual favours against women who had attained enviable positions in society was a limitation to all interventions at getting women to maximise their potential and make their contributions to national development.
Such interventions , they said, included the “send your girl child to school campaign”, the passage of the domestic violence bill, fight against female genital mutilation, the launch of the National Gender policy and ongoing works on the Affirmative Action Bill.
The group said Mr Agyapong’s comments implied that no woman could hold any position of honour and power in society by merit, describing the impression as appalling.
“If women are treated this way, most women will be afraid to take up positions in the society even if they are being offered the position on merit, for fear of being stigmatised,” they said.
According to the queenmothers, they considered such utterances as insults because they did not only undermine the competence of the EC boss but also sought to bring her good name into disrepute.
Right to information must be exercised responsibly
The queenmothers said the association acknowledged the right to freedom of speech of every Ghanaian and the fact that the country required varied opinions and a healthy exchange of ideas to strengthen Ghana’s democracy.
But were quick to add that the right to freedom of speech needed to be exercised responsibly to promote civility and enhance the peace and stability of the nation.
“It becomes a problem when someone in high office utter a statement that affects not just one woman but seeks to undermine the dignity of hard-working women in the country.”
“These are years of efforts and toil to create equal opportunities for all and build a society where progress and development are shared with equity irrespective of gender, ethnicity and religion,” they said.”
She said the association condemned the insults against Mrs Osei and urged all discerning men and women to do same.
“As queenmothers, we continuously witness and hear of the high discrimination against women in varying forms in the pursuit of their duties and it is about time stakeholders, particularly the government, instituted stringent measures to stop it immediately,” she said.
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