Mrs. Hamida Harrison, Resource Sustainability Manager at ABANTU, is emphasizing an urgent need for increased women's participation in the upcoming 2024 general elections and advocating for the passage of the Affirmative Action Bill into law.

Mrs. Harrison highlighted the worrying statistics on women's representation in politics, noting a decline from 2015.

"We have seen a decrease in women's representation from around four percent to just 4.1 percent in the most recent elections," she stated.

With the next general election only six months away, she expressed concern that the situation might worsen.

She pointed out that women’s representation at the local level has already decreased, and the trend is likely to continue given the number of women who lost in the primaries on the ticket of the two main political parties, namely the New Patriotic Parry and National Democratic Congres. "Approximately eight women from the New Patriotic Party and two or three from the NDC lost their primaries," Harrison added, emphasizing the uncertainty of whether the few women who won the primaries will be elected.

For activists like Mrs. Harrison, who have dedicated their lives to elevating the status of women in national affairs, these developments are disheartening.

She called for a focused advocacy effort to address this issue, targeting key sectors of society that can influence change.

"The first target for our advocacy should be the government.

The state must be held accountable for the lack of progress in women's representation," she asserted.

 The government, she argued, has a constitutional duty to ensure equality among its citizens, including women.

Mrs. Harrison also highlighted the critical role of political parties, which serve as the bridge between citizens and governance.

"If political parties do not take action to improve women's status in governance, they must be held accountable," she said.

Finally, she pointed to the population's role, stressing that voters have the power to elect women