POWA condemns gendered attacks against Lordina Mahama, Samira Bawumia
The Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA) has called for an end to what it describes as gendered insults, personal attacks and mockery directed at First Lady Lordina Mahama and former Second Lady Samira Bawumia.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 29, the organisation said such attacks go beyond ordinary partisan political exchanges and risk undermining the dignity and political agency of women in public life.
POWA stressed that women can belong to different political parties and hold opposing political views without being pitted against one another.
According to the organisation, Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia have both occupied prominent positions within Ghana’s political leadership and have platforms that could be used to advance issues affecting women, girls and vulnerable communities.
“Those platforms should not become instruments of pitting women against one another,” POWA said.
The organisation, however, clarified that its position should not be interpreted as shielding either woman from public scrutiny.
It said women in political and public office must remain accountable for their words, actions and policies, but maintained that accountability should be distinguished from humiliation, misogyny and personal attacks.
POWA said women’s political experiences are influenced not only by party affiliation but also by gender, class and access to institutional power.
It argued that encouraging women to direct their political energy against one another could divert attention from structural inequalities that continue to limit women’s participation and influence.
“When women divide, unequal power systems benefit,” the organisation said.
POWA cited inadequate political representation, economic inequality, violence against women and girls, unequal access to opportunities, unpaid care responsibilities and barriers to decision-making among challenges confronting Ghanaian women.
It said these issues require collective action across political and ideological lines.
The organisation therefore urged women’s rights groups, civil society organisations and the public to reject what it described as the normalisation of gendered attacks against women in public life.
POWA also called on prominent women in Ghanaian politics to identify areas of common interest and work towards a collective women’s agenda, even when they disagree politically.
“Lordina Mahama need not agree with Samira Bawumia, and vice versa. Solidarity does not require political uniformity,” it said.
“It requires recognising that advancing women’s collective development is bigger than any political party.”
The organisation further urged women across the country to resist political divisions that, in its view, have historically weakened women’s collective bargaining power.
It called on men who support gender equality to reject gendered political attacks and urged political actors across the political divide to demonstrate that political competition can coexist with respect for women’s dignity.
POWA also appealed to Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia to consider leading a broader conversation on women’s political solidarity beyond party lines.
The organisation said Ghana needs greater representation of women in decision-making and women who can disagree politically without undermining one another.
“Ghana needs more women at the table. It needs women who can disagree without destroying one another,” POWA said.
The statement was signed by POWA Founder, Dr Victoria Lakshmi Hamah.
“Women’s power is people’s power,” the organisation said, urging Ghanaians not to allow partisan politics to prevent women from working together on issues affecting women and girls.
By Esther Padmore Amonoo
