Men must see feminism as critical to struggle for rights

A renowned legal practitioner, Mr. Akoto Ampaw has encouraged the feminist movement (FM) to be actively involved in the mass struggle for democratic principles and not to work in isolation.
He said the movement must not see itself as different from other democratic struggles. He noted that issues such as the struggles of mining communities clearly have major gender dimensions and so men who are involved in such struggles get a better understanding of the feminist movement.
According to him, men could be feminist in the sense of being part of the movement that challenges the status quo.
"Such a movement is relevant to men in the sense that it forces them to question what they take for granted and affords them the opportunity to look at the possibility of organising society different from how it is organised currently."
"Clearly men who are democratic and committed to society must see feminism as a critical point to the social struggle for rights. The history of social struggle is same as emancipation, so it is important that they recognise the struggle for change can't be complete without dealing with challenges that feminism poses."
Feminism, generally, is belief in the need to secure rights and opportunities for women equal to those of men, or a commitment to securing these.
Mr. Ampaw was speaking as a panelist at the second National Feminist Forum held in Accra and organised by the Network for Women's Right in Ghana (NETRIGHT) with support from the African Women Development Fund (AWDF).
The forum was under the theme, "Exploring the Multiple Forms of Feminism and its Implications for Constructing a Ghanaian Feminist Identity."
The renowned lawyer explained that at the heart of feminism as a movement was a challenge to power and power relations.
Therefore, failure to understand that will lead to many pitfalls in advancing the course of FM in Ghana and worldwide.
He said feminism was consistent with emancipation struggle worldwide.
However, he said it was the fear of loss of power and the privileges and all that went with power, a social course that challenges orthodoxy, that often make men nervous about feminism instead of embracing its emancipation import fully and as a general emancipation struggle worldwide.
He elaborated that feminism seeks to transform those power relations by which men enjoy their position of dominance in society.
Feminism, he said, sought to challenge what men know as normal and even natural and that lack of understanding promoted myths about feminism that were negative.
"The fear expressed sometimes by men is as a result of inadequacies in the men themselves, in that there is a posture of masculinity and when there is a challenge by a woman who is supposed to know her state then it is also a challenge."
"In all this feminism is challenged or feared because it's challenging what we can describe as the way things are done. The status quo which it challenges depends on reproducing the way things are done or should be done.
In that respect, it is important that when we talk about feminism we need to understand that while recognising its autonomy it is related to other struggles for emancipation."
Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Director of the Institute of African Studies, corroborated Mr. Ampaw's views on the lack of understanding of the concept of feminism by men, particularly when it posed a different picture what women status in society should be as expressed by "If women take the position of men then what is their role and society will begin to question.

Feminists are perceived as women who can't be controlled and so due to this stigma some women who are aligned with women's rights advocacy suddenly change their status when referred to feminists."
She said it was important for society to dismantle oppressive blocks such as masculinity to be able to understand the system and change it. "
Although every woman is a feminist, when men embrace it, it encourages other women to be part of the struggle. So as we open opportunities for women alternatives ones will open for men."

Another panel member, Mr. Gyekye Tanoh, described feminism as a broad notion, a political tradition that seeks to challenge the position of women in society.
He noted most people get nervous due to the fact that any struggle for change could spill beyond immediate issues as those who are oppressed begin to demand their rights."Feminism poses the question of power, equalisation. It sets the mark or opens the door to possibilities and raises a lot of questions. It deepens our thinking about what we have to do."

He argued that the position of women in society fundamentally was to empower and challenge, therefore they need to struggle for change.
"Feminism has come to change the fact that women are used for reproduction and to stick to their husbands and children at home."Several women rights and gender equality activists in Ghana often shun the label feminists in response to negative portrayals and the so- called western origins of feminist ideas.Even though they carry out actions that resist male dominance they resist being called feminists. Discomfort with the use of the term feminism therefore arises from the superficial insights of its history, traditions and transformative potential.

Dr, Akua Britwum, Convenor of NETRIGHT, recalled that the first feminist forum was used to create space for women activists committed to gender equal social transformation to clarify the meaning of feminism and discussed how it translated into their work.

She said the forum was in response to the call on African women to start formal discussions at the national, regional and international levels on what could constitute a set of guiding feminist ideas and principle.
She said major conclusions reached at the first forum noted the importance of labelling for connecting and developing alliances to facilitate the struggle against different forms of oppression.
According to Dr. Britwum, the second forum was to explore the changing discourses on gender equality and how its implication for the transformative agenda of feminists. ?The aim of the forum is to create awareness of feminist movement in Ghana is to discuss the constraints in setting a strong feminist agenda and the underlying power play in setting and framing our identities as feminists in Ghana.

"We are expecting that the forum will lead to strengthening women's organising and networking to bring about transformatory change. We also look forward to renewed interests of younger actors ready to ensure multigenerational collaboration in the promotion of women's rights through a feminist's agenda."

Participants at the forum included women's rights and gender equality activists from NGOs, academia, labour movements, faith -based organizations, media, persons with disability and young women leaders.