Some female legislators are calling for financial assistance from various civil society organizations and other stakeholders to conduct their constituency duties effectively.
The lawmakers believe that the support would contribute to retaining the majority of female legislators and promote gender parity in politics.
In the 2021 Population and Housing Census, Ghana had a higher female population, accounting for 50.7 percent, while males constituted 49.3 per cent.
This means there are 400,000 more females in Ghana than males.
However, within the 8th Parliament, both the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have 20 female members each, totalling 40 out of 275 MPs.
During the recent NDC primaries, three female MPs lost their bids to contest in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Expressing their concerns during a breakfast meeting organized by Parliamentary Network Africa, legislators Patricia Appiagyei, Betty Krosbi Mensah, and Sheila Bartels called for financial aid.
Patricia Appiagyei stressed the importance of recognizing the challenges MPs face while serving their constituencies, especially during primaries, and urged civil society organizations to offer the necessary support.
“It is very important that if we are working with the CSOs, wherever you are getting your funding from, you must appreciate the challenges we have in ensuring that we are servicing our constituencies and support us, especially even during our primaries. What do you do to support and ensure that we retain our numbers and be able to even appreciate the numbers that we have in Parliament?” She asked.
Sheila Bartels, MP for Ablekuma North, emphasized that empowering women in Parliament would encourage more women to seek these positions.
She expressed concerns about women in politics not getting the same support as their male counterparts and called for equitable financing opportunities.
On her part, Betty Krosbi Mensah, representing Afram Plains North, highlighted the limited resources available to MPs, making it difficult to effectively represent their constituencies.