The Presidential Candidate of the Progressive People’s Party (PPP) in the 2020 general elections, Brigitte Dzogbenuku believes the cultural socialization process in Ghana makes women think of themselves as inadequate to hold leadership positions.
According to her, women have been socialized into their thinking and into seeing themselves as “secondary people and shy away from leadership, but we need to prove our worth.”
“The socialization process in Ghana is the problem. Women have been socialized in their thinking. Our Chiefs have been called chiefs while women have been called queen mothers when they can be addressed as just queens because they are leaders too,” she told Samuel Eshun on the Happy Morning Show.
She charged women to know their value. “A while ago, Yaa Asantewaa said I will do it and she did. We need to move forward and not let fear overcome us. We’ve had female Supreme Court Justices, Speaker of Parliament, Chancellors of Universities and this shows women are ready to take up leadership positions. I believe in myself and there are a lot of me out there.”
Citing the importance of traders and their leadership to Ghana’s economy, she added, “Go to Makola Market and you’ll see it’s full of women and should they refuse to work for 3 days, the Bank of Ghana will suffer.”
Having more women political leaders is important as governments and parliaments should be representative of the society they serve. But research shows it also helps deliver better policy outcomes in health, education and infrastructure.
Challenges to being a woman leader in Ghana’s politics, include patriarchal family structures, misinformation about women candidates for election, and having an online presence while facing online abuse.