EFFECTS OF ELECTORAL AND GENDER RELATED ISSUES ON THE SOCIETY

As a young woman I have watched with concern the rate at which electoral conflicts, tribal war, religious unrest and other forms of  conflicts have tire my people apart and the impact on innocent people especially women and children. Even though Ghana have not experience any serious electoral conflicts as a nation, we have heard of some unrest in parts of the country before, during and after general elections and even during by-elections, ethnic wars etc but the earlier we take this happenings serious and work at preventing same happenings during this year’s general elections and future elections the better.

Again Ghana has neighbouring countries that have seen some forms of electoral, tribal, civil and religious wars for which reason we (as a nation) should put in all effort to help these countries maintain their current peace or help them arrival at an agreement which will help save the lives of innocent people coupled with the fact that the my main objective for putting together this piece to equip my reader with effective with this sensitive issues for critical thinking to finding the way forward. The above reasons therefore gives me the edge as a media practitioner for that matter a communicator to express interest in what the stakes in this year’s elections are because it affords me the opportunity to deepen my understanding base on issues bordering on elections, peace and security since these are the fundamentals of ensuring the growth of every democracy.
Nonetheless it is believe that the media today is a “two edge sword” which could either make or unmake a nation as it was in the case of Rwanda, as a result I deem it responsible to handle with care news, facts, statements and discoveries made by me or by other persons in the discharge of my duty having in mind the possible outcome in the event of misinformation and its impact. Again it would be difficult to discuss electoral issues without touching on gender, which has  over the years have not receive proper redress hence the high level of electoral violence  and gender inequality in our societies, countries and on the continent.
First of all I would attempt to look at elections, gender related issues and its associated challenges with some examples. Gender is defined by FAO as ‘the relationship between men and women, both perceptual and material’ gender therefore cannot only be determined biologically as a result of sexual characteristics of either women or men but is constructed socially. Gender refers to the socially determined differences between women and men, such as roles, attitudes, behaviors and values despite the above definition, gender is often misunderstood as being the promotion of women; however, as we see from the FAO, gender issues focus on women and on the relationship between men and women, their roles, access to and control over resources, division of labour, interests and needs.
With this background it is important to note that electoral issues to a large extent affect household security, family well-being, planning, productive and all other aspects of life. An attempt would be made to point out challenges to election and gender related issues. Culture, gender equality and empowerment are possible issue to look at in ensuring proper understanding of electoral issues.
Culture is the distinctive patterns of ideas, beliefs, and norms which characterize the way of life and relations of a society or groups within a society. These patterns also include customs and traditions which culturally determined gender ideologies, defines rights and responsibilities, what is the ‘appropriate’ behavior for women and men in relations of a society or groups within a society.eg In Saudi Arabia, women aren’t allowed to drive, or even ride bikes, and men aren’t allowed to drive women they’re not closely related to each other.
Gender equality denotes women having equal access to social, economic, political and cultural opportunities as men, it does not mean that women and men are the same, but rather that their similarities and differences are recognized and equally valued. eg Men threw acid in the faces of two women for not covering up in public.
No one can actually empower another only the individual can empower himself or herself to make choices or to speak out. However, some institutions can aid processes that can nurture self-empowerment of individuals in case of low self esteem or neglected groups.  To this extent I see empowerment as men and women taking control over their lives, setting their own agendas, gaining skills, building self-confidence, solving problems and developing self-reliance, and expressing their voice.eg In Lebanon, battered women cannot file for divorce on the basis of abuse without the testimony of an eyewitness. But this is not to say that there is no attempt to salvage the situation it is just that we could do better as a people.
In summery I would like to say that it is instructive to note that we cannot afford to neglect issues bordering on elections, gender, peace and security which has informed the putting together of this piece to make an impact as a communicator not forgetting the fact that peace is very important in today's world.  This is because looking around we see a number of nations who are at war with each other and there are a number of factors that are responsible for the unrest in the world.