“No Women, No Panels” — Otiko Djaba Declares War on ‘Manels’ in Ghana’s Media

The Henry Djaba Memorial Foundation has launched a forceful campaign against the persistent exclusion of women from Ghana’s media space, calling for an immediate end to all-male discussion panels, widely referred to as “manels.”
In a strongly worded press statement issued in Accra, the Foundation’s Founder and Executive Director, Otiko Afisah Djaba, described the continued dominance of male voices on radio and television panels as “unjust, inexcusable and a threat to democracy.”

“Ghana must end the era of all-male media panels now,” she declared. “No women, no legitimacy, no debate, no panel.”

The Foundation argues that despite decades of global and national commitments to gender equality—including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and Ghana’s own.

Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act 2024—women’s voices remain significantly underrepresented in national discourse.

According to the statement, this exclusion is not accidental but reflects “entrenched structural barriers” and a culture of recycling male voices as default experts, while sidelining equally qualified women across sectors.

Citing a 2024 media monitoring report, the Foundation noted that women made up just 14 percent of experts featured in Ghanaian media, with some outlets recording figures as low as 3 percent.

“Who would believe that Ghana has committed to dismantle inequality when such disparities persist?” the statement questioned.

The Foundation pointed to recent examples across major media platforms where discussions on governance, economics, and national development featured exclusively male panels—even on issues directly affecting women and broader society.

I’ll warned that such practices undermine the quality of public discourse and weaken democratic governance. “When women’s perspectives are absent, national conversations are built on half-truths—the truths of men,” Djaba stated.
Beyond outright exclusion, the Foundation also criticised what it described as “tokenism,” where a single woman is added to a panel dominated by men.

It argued that such gestures fall short of meaningful inclusion and do little to address systemic imbalance.“Calling women to balance optics is not justice,” the statement said. “True representation requires a deliberate shift toward critical mass participation, where women are not exceptions but leaders shaping national narratives.”

The Foundation is urging media houses, editors and producers to adopt strict gender-balanced policies, including a zero-tolerance approach to all-male panels.

It also called on regulators such as the Ministry of Information and the National Communications Authority to enforce accountability, while encouraging male panellists to reject invitations to appear on “manels.”

The campaign further pushes for structural reforms, including the development of national databases of women experts, targeted capacity-building for women particularly those from rural communities and persons with disabilities and the publication of diversity metrics by media institutions.

Djaba stressed that the issue goes beyond representation to the heart of justice and democratic legitimacy. “The media cannot claim to advance justice while silencing half the population,” she said.

Referencing global milestones such as the Commission on the Status of Women, she warned that Ghana risks falling short of its commitments if urgent action is not taken.

“This is not a request or a time for polite advocacy,” Djaba concluded. “Neutrality sustains inequality, and silence means complicity.”

The Foundation’s call, captured in the rallying slogan “No Women, No Panels,” is expected to intensify debate within Ghana’s media industry as pressure mounts for more inclusive and representative public discourse.

Source: Felix NYAABA/expressnews.com