The Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA) has called for an end to personal attacks, insults and gendered mockery directed at First Lady Lordina Mahama and former Second Lady Samira Bawumia.
According to the organisation, the attacks go beyond partisan political exchanges and reflect a broader pattern of personal humiliation that undermines the dignity and political agency of women in public life.
In a statement signed by its Founder and President, Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, POWA stressed that women could belong to different political parties and hold divergent political views without becoming enemies.
“Women can belong to different political parties, hold different political views, and disagree strongly without becoming enemies,” the organisation said.
POWA noted that both Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia have occupied highly visible positions within Ghana’s political leadership and have platforms that could be used to advance the interests of women, girls and vulnerable communities.
It therefore cautioned against turning such platforms into instruments for pitting women against each other.
The organisation clarified that its position was not intended to shield either woman from legitimate public scrutiny.
It said women in political and public office must remain accountable for their words, actions and policies, but argued that accountability should be distinguished from humiliation, misogyny and personal attacks.
POWA further observed that women’s political experiences are shaped not only by gender but also by class, party affiliation and access to institutional power.
“When women are encouraged to expend their political energy fighting one another, attention can be diverted from the structural inequalities that continue to limit women’s participation and influence,” it said.
The organisation argued that Ghanaian women continue to face challenges including inadequate political representation, economic inequality, violence against women and girls, unequal access to opportunities, unpaid care burdens and barriers to decision-making.
It said these challenges required collective action rather than divisions among women.
POWA is therefore urging women’s rights organisations, women’s groups, civil society organisations and Ghanaians generally to reject what it described as the normalisation of gendered insults and personal attacks against women in public life.
The organisation also called on women across the country to resist divisions that, in its view, have historically weakened women’s collective bargaining power.
It urged men who support gender equality to reject gendered political attacks and called on political actors across the political divide to demonstrate that political competition can coexist with respect for women’s dignity.
POWA further appealed to Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia to consider leading a broader conversation on women’s political solidarity that transcends party lines.
“Lordina Mahama need not agree with Samira Bawumia, and vice versa. Solidarity does not require political uniformity,” POWA said.
“It requires recognising that advancing women’s collective development is bigger than any political party.”
The organisation concluded by calling for greater cooperation among women in addressing issues affecting women and girls, saying Ghana needs more women at decision-making tables and women who can disagree politically without destroying one another.
“Women’s power is people’s power,” POWA said
