The Senior Presidential Advisor and Senior Aide to President John Dramani Mahama, Joyce Bawah Mogtari, has called for greater opportunities for women to participate in political leadership, arguing that leadership skills are often developed through responsibility, exposure and experience.
In a Facebook post, Madam Bawah Mogtari reflected on her own political journey, recalling how she was appointed by then-President John Dramani Mahama to take over from Hannah Tetteh at a relatively young age.
She said while some questioned whether she had the experience for the role, she was conscious of the enormity of the responsibility and grew into it through the challenges that followed.
“Sometimes, when a woman is given an opportunity, people ask whether she is ready. What we should be asking is whether we are prepared to give women the opportunity to become ready,” she wrote.
She said her experience demonstrated the importance of creating space for women to develop their leadership capacities, noting that President Mahama had consistently promoted women in political leadership, including nominating Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as his running mate in two successive elections.
According to her, the growing presence of women as ministers, chief executives, advisers, strategists and decision-makers represents progress towards making women’s participation in political leadership normal.