Deputy minority leader challenges young women to claim leadership
Patricia Appiagyei calls for bold female participation as she pushes for 30% women’s representation in Parliament
The Deputy Minority Leader of Ghana’s Parliament, Patricia Appiagyei, has issued a passionate call to young women and female students to shed their hesitation and step boldly into the arena of political leadership, warning that the current level of female representation in the country’s governance structures falls far short of what is needed and what is possible.
Speaking during a meeting with members of the Tertiary Students Confederacy of the NPP (TESCON) on March 25, Mrs Appiagyei combined personal conviction with practical guidance, drawing on her own political journey to make the case that young women must not wait to be invited into leadership, they must pursue it deliberately and unapologetically.
Mrs Appiagyei opened her address by paying tribute to the women who have historically formed the backbone of the party’s grassroots strength, mothers, grandmothers, and married women who championed the party’s cause not out of compulsion but out of genuine belief in its foundational values.
She stressed that those values are not merely historical artefacts but living principles that must be continuously understood, taught, and defended by each new generation of party members.
“These values must continue to be emphasised and upheld, as they shape the policies that guide the party,” she stated, warning that losing sight of them would erode the sense of purpose and commitment that binds members together.
At the heart of Mrs Appiagyei’s message was a direct critique of the way women’s participation within the party has too often been confined to a narrow band of designated roles, chief among them the position of women’s organizer, and occasionally youth organizer.
She was frank in her assessment: these roles, however valuable, are not enough.
“As a party, we are faced with a limited number of women leading the front. These roles alone are not enough,” she said.
Her argument was not merely about numerical fairness but about the quality and breadth of representation. Women, she insisted, must be present and influential across the full spectrum of leadership positions, not channeled into a corner of the political structure and left there.
Moving from diagnosis to prescription, Mrs Appiagyei offered the kind of candid, practical guidance that comes from lived experience in a political environment that has not always made space for women.
She urged young women to take the initiative in engaging with people, to reach out, to speak up, and to build the personal connections that form the foundation of any successful political career, even before formal positions are within reach.
“Do not be shy. Reach out to people and make the effort to speak to them. That was our responsibility, even when we were not given leading positions,” she advised.
She also cautioned female students against projecting an air of detachment or inaccessibility, urging them instead to be warm, engaging, and purposeful in how they present themselves on campuses and in their communities.
“Do not present yourselves as snobs. Be approachable, interact with people, and create platforms such as book clubs to bring others together,” she added.
The advice speaks to something deeper than political tactics, a recognition that for women navigating spaces not always designed with them in mind, presence, personality, and network-building are among the most powerful tools available.
Mrs Appiagyei grounded her call in a concrete and measurable ambition. Acknowledging that there are currently 41 women serving in Ghana’s Parliament, she made clear that while the figure represents progress, it does not represent arrival.
“We must work towards ensuring that at least 30 per cent of parliamentary representation is made up of women,” she said, a target that, if achieved, would mark a significant milestone in Ghana’s ongoing effort to close the gender gap in its highest legislative body.
The call arrives at a moment when conversations about women’s political participation are gaining renewed urgency across Africa, and when the question of whether institutions are doing enough to create genuine pathways for female leadership is being asked with growing insistence.
For the young women in the TESCON meeting, Mrs Appiagyei’s message was both a challenge and an affirmation, a reminder that their voices, their ideas, and their ambitions are not peripheral to Ghana’s political future. They are essential to it.
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