Adwoa Safo Raises Gender Bias Concerns In National Pledge | Parliament

The Member of Parliament (MP) for Dome Kwabenya, Sara Adwoa Safo, has challenged the language of the National pledge raising concerns regarding its gender bias.

In a lively parliamentary debate on Tuesday, Adwoa Safo advocated for the inclusion of “foremothers” alongside the use of” forefathers” in the pledge to acknowledge the contributions of women in shaping the country’s history.

This follows part of Parliament’s new Standing Orders to recite the national pledge at the beginning of Parliament’s sitting every week.

The move aims to instill a sense of patriotism and unity among members of the chamber.

However, the Former Minster for Gender, Women and Children, Adwoa Safo did not fail to express her displeasure in the use of “forefathers” as she described as “gender insensitive” explaining that it did not actively capture the contributions of women in the development of the country since time immemorial.

In response to her concerns, the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin pointed out that the wording of the pledge is enshrined in the constitution, thus potentially requiring a constitutional amendment to effect any changes.

New orders 

Notable changes among the Standing Orders include the establishment of Economic Planning Committees stemming from the Finance committee.

Also, MPs will now have their attendance recorded by the Speaker each morning before the commencement of parliamentary proceedings.

However, concerns have been raised by some MPs regarding the practical implications of the new attendance system. 

The MP for Wa West, Peter Toobu, questioned the view of being marked absent in the plenary sessions while present at committee meetings. 

Speaker Bagbin further assured MPs that the roll call was essential for maintaining minimum requirements but hinted at the future introduction of an electronic clocking system to streamline the process.