The Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA) has condemned the personal attacks aimed at First Lady Lordina Mahama and former Second Lady Samira Bawumia, calling on Ghanaian women in politics to unite beyond party lines. In a statement released on Tuesday, September 29, POWA described the insults and mockery directed at these two prominent women as gendered and damaging, going beyond normal political debate.
POWA said the attacks risk undermining the dignity and political agency of women in public life. The organisation pointed out that Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia have held visible positions in 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,” the statement said.
While POWA called for an end to the personal attacks, it made clear that this does not mean shielding either woman from public scrutiny. It said that women in political and public office must remain accountable for their words, actions, and policies. However, accountability should not cross into humiliation, misogyny, or personal attacks.
The organisation highlighted that women’s political experiences are shaped by factors beyond party affiliation, including gender, class, and access to institutional power. POWA argued that encouraging women to focus their political energy on each other shifts attention away from the structural inequalities that continue to limit women’s participation and influence in Ghana.
“When women divide, unequal power systems benefit,” the statement said. POWA pointed to several challenges facing Ghanaian women, including inadequate political representation, economic inequality, violence against women and girls, unequal access to opportunities, unpaid care responsibilities, and barriers to decision-making. The organisation said these issues require collective action across political and ideological lines.
POWA urged women’s rights organisations, women’s groups, civil society organisations, and the wider public to reject the normalisation of gendered attacks against women in public life. It called on Ghana’s prominent women in politics to identify areas of common interest and work towards a collective agenda for women, even if they disagree politically.
“Lordina Mahama need not agree with Samira Bawumia, and vice versa. Solidarity does not require political uniformity,” the statement said. “It requires recognising that advancing women’s collective development is bigger than any political party.”
The organisation also appealed to women across Ghana to resist political divisions that have historically weakened women’s collective bargaining power. It encouraged men who support gender equality to reject gendered political attacks and called on political actors across the divide to show that political competition can coexist with respect for women’s dignity.
POWA went further by appealing 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,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by POWA founder Dr Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, who ended with: “Women’s power is people’s power,” urging Ghanaians not to let partisan politics prevent women from working together on issues affecting women and girls.
According to Joy Online.
