The Speaker of Parliament, Prof. Mike Oquaye, has instructed officials of the Parliamentary Service to urgently create a space in the House for the use of nursing mothers.
The Speaker says this is to portray Parliament as a model for the promotion of breastfeeding which is known to reduce the incidence of breast cancer.
Recently, there was an incident in the Kenyan Parliament where a female MP did not receive the best treatment for breastfeeding a child during the plenary.
The Speaker gave the order during deliberations on breast cancer awareness.
“As a lecturer of development, we should identify appropriate rooms in plenary immediately for our youth as a lesson for mothers. We see clearly, the nexus between feeding, breastfeeding and the avoidance of some of these incidences.”
The Woman Representative for Kwale located in southern Kenya’s move drew outrage from fellow politicians and was therefore asked to leave the Assembly.
Incident in Kenya’s Parliament
Proceedings in the Kenyan National Assembly halted when Kenyan MP Zulekha Hassan brought her five-month-old daughter in with her.
The Woman Representative for Kwale located in southern Kenya’s move drew outrage from fellow politicians and was therefore asked to leave the Assembly.
Women Caucus in Parliament calls for review of standing orders
Following the incident that happened in Kenya, the Women Caucus in Parliament of Ghana called for a review of the Standing Orders of the House to enhance women’s participation in politics.
The Standing Orders in Ghana’s Parliament places similar restrictions on members of the house.
Speaking in an interview, Vice-Chairperson of the Women Caucus, Comfort Doyoe Ghansah said the campaign to get the standing orders reviewed will be pursued vigorously in the House.
“We are encouraging more women to come into leadership…You cannot prevent women from having babies so if you have babies how do you expect women in leadership to treat their newborn babies and you cannot say they should stay home for a whole year breastfeeding the baby so we have to push.”
“We need to start pushing for our standing orders to be looked at again so that we push for those things as women caucus then we will look at a lot of things as women. I cannot on my own be doing this or that but we will meet as a caucus and do all those things,” she said.