By Edward Acquah
Accra, Oct. 18, GNA- “The system of politics is not really created to accommodate women. It is now, in these days, that the system is trying to accommodate women,” Ms Hariratah Ibrahim Doudu, the Vice President of the Student Representative Council of the Ghana School of Law, has said in the documentary: “We Shall Lead: Voices Shaping the Future of Africa.”
She said the political environment continued to present barriers to women seeking leadership positions, discouraging many from participating in politics and public life.
Ms Doudu, who grew up in a modest family of 24 siblings, said losing her father after Senior High School strengthened her resilience and determination to lead and inspire other women.
She said she was surprised to discover that no woman had attempted to contest the vice presidency of the law school’s SRC for more than five years when she decided to run for the position, despite women outnumbering men at the institution.
Although more women were making efforts to challenge the situation and “create a balance,” she said greater support was needed to dismantle the barriers confronting women in leadership.
Ms Doudu’s experience is among the perspectives shared by three Ghanaian youth leaders in the documentary, which examines the participation of young people and women in politics and public life.
The documentary is part of the European Union Women and Youth Democratic Engagement (WYDE) Political Parties Project, which seeks to strengthen the participation of women and young people in democratic processes.
As the project draws to a close, the documentary seeks to extend its lessons beyond direct beneficiaries, drawing on the experiences of political and public leaders in Ghana, Kenya and Uganda.
In Ghana, the other featured leaders are Rashid Ibrahim, the President of the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), and Sherif Ghali, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs and President of the Ghana Youth Federation.
Mr Ibrahim said his decision to seek a leadership position was driven by the need to have a platform through which leaders could listen to young people and respond to their concerns.
He said young people had the capacity to contribute meaningfully to society if given the opportunity and the necessary support.
“The youthful leaders are doing well. Why don’t we give them the opportunity,” he asked.
“I believe that if the youth are given the chance and the right opportunities, they can work to contribute enough to national development,” he said.
Mr Ghali, however, argued that including young people in leadership structures was not enough if they were excluded from decisions affecting their lives and the country’s development.
“The struggle is so serious that young people do not want to go into politics. It is not about including us but allowing us to take decisions,” he said.
He said young people would be encouraged to participate in politics when they saw their peers being listened to and having their views reflected in decisions.
The EU WYDE Political Parties Project was funded by the European Union, led by the European Network of Political Foundations (ENoP) and implemented in Ghana by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Ghana Office to strengthen democratic governance and youth participation through leadership training, mentorship and capacity-building workshops.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah