Women's Participation in Campus Politics- A Case Study of Public Universities in Ghana

Women's potential to influence public policy and directly impact Ghanaian governance cannot be overstated. Yet, despite women's enthusiasm for politics, women are not as active in politics as males are in Ghana. Even though women make up 51% of the country's population, only 13.9% of legislators are women, which is lower than the national average and has been hailed as the highest since the fourth republic (Degraft, Alhassan, & Pantah, 2016).
Women's issues have not historically received appropriate attention. The problem dates back to the colonial era when colonizers valued men above women in positions of authority. It is unknown why they preferred men to women. Still, it may have something to do with their attempt to win over colonists, as earlier systems were patriarchal, and men were expected to demand greater loyalty than women (Bawa, 2013). Post-independent governments made efforts to allow women to participate in governance but fell short of producing the necessary outcomes to qualify as an inclusive system.
In Ghana, substantial efforts are being made to increase the representation of women's issues quantitatively and qualitatively in parliament. Feminist organizations, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, and policymakers are all working hard to promote gender equality in politics. But sadly, these efforts have only producing "minimal improvements" (Sossou, 2011; & Sanyare, 2013).
Over the years, a number of studies have looked into women participation in politics. However, majority of them have constrained scopes. Therefore, this study seeks to determine the impact of campus politics on women's participation in national politics. Specifically, the study seeks to achieve the following objectives;
-To access the level of female participation in campus politics.
-To investigate the major factors that affect female participation in campus politics.
-To establish a relationship between women's participation in campus politics and their participation in national politics.
The study will make use of a mixed research design that includes both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analysis. Both primary and secondary sources are employed in gathering data to achieve the research objectives. The study areas of the research are the four main public universities in Ghana. The study targets female student leaders of these universities.
The findings of the study should be of interest to feminist organizations, governments, international organizations, and human rights advocates. In terms of domestic policy, the study would identify areas where the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection should focus in order to achieve socioeconomic and political gender equity and equality in all regions of the nation. Additionally, the study will contribute to the body of knowledge on how to increase women's political participation.