Attacks on Lordina Mahama, Samira Bawumia reinforce unequal power – Victoria Hamah

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. POWA says the attacks go beyond ordinary partisan political exchanges and risk undermining the dignity and political agency of women in public life. In a statement issued on Tuesday, September 29, the organisation said women can belong to different political parties and hold opposing political views without being turned against one another.

It said both Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia have occupied highly visible 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, stressed 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 argued that accountability should be distinguished from humiliation, misogyny and personal attacks. ‘When women divide, unequal power wins’ POWA said political experiences of women are shaped not only by party affiliation but also by gender, class and access to institutional power. It argued that when women are encouraged to direct their political energy at one another, attention can shift away from structural inequalities that continue to limit women’s participation and influence.

“When women divide, unequal power systems benefit,” the organisation said. It cited inadequate political representation, economic inequality, violence against women and girls, unequal access to opportunities, unpaid care responsibilities and barriers to decision-making among the challenges facing Ghanaian women. POWA said these issues require collective action across political and ideological lines.

It therefore urged women’s rights organisations, women’s groups, civil society organisations and the wider public to reject what it described as the normalisation of gendered attacks against women in public life. Call for cross-party solidarity POWA said Ghana’s prominent women in politics should identify areas of common interest and work towards a collective women’s … Founder of the Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA), Dr Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, has condemned personal attacks, insults and gendered mockery directed at First Lady Lordina Mahama and former Second Lady Samira Bawumia, arguing that such attacks reinforce the unequal power structures limiting women’s collective political influence in Ghana.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday, September 29, 2026, and titled “When Women Divide, Unequal Power Wins: POWA Calls for an End to Gendered Attacks on Lordina Mahama and Samira Bawumia,” Dr Hamah said political differences between the two women should not become a basis for turning women against one another. She stressed that women could belong to different political parties and hold opposing views without becoming enemies. “Our concern is not to shield either woman from legitimate public scrutiny,” Dr Hamah said.