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‘Women attain positions on merit, not through sexual favours’
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It is disheartening to hear some men shamelessly tagging women in responsible positions as using their bodies to get to the top of their field or career.
“Women are also capable, women have skills, women have abilities so stop tagging every successful woman as having used her body to have reached her current positions, we don’t use our bodies, we use our brains”
The Chairperson of Network for Young Women Empowerment, Ms Ida Nakkar said these in an interaction with The Spectator Newspaper on the sidelines of a women empowerment programme at Wa last Saturday.
The programme was to project women as “necessary component of development and encourage society to do away with biases that affected the progress of women.”
The Chairperson who seemed appalled by such comments against successful women in society indicated that negative comments discouraged women from working harder towards national and human resource development.
“There are a lot of women who are capable of and interested in assuming political positions for instance but once the call is placed, they do not avail themselves because of the unwarranted name calling that come with assuming such positions”, she lamented.
She explained that the situation was compounded in instances where the women were unmarried and said some of them were even called all sorts of names that seemed to suggest that they attained their successes through sexual relations.
“We even hear people tag unmarried successful business women as witches and prostitutes and try to belittle their achievements and capabilities because they are not married”, she said and condemned such acts against women.
The Chairperson explained that in order for women to progress and remain empowered, it was necessary for society to recognise their unique capabilities and talents.
“It is really difficult as a woman to make it to the top because aside dealing with domestic issues that consume your time, you have to deal also with rumours that kill your energy”, she said.
She called on society to consider women capable people who had the ability to reason for themselves and make concrete decisions on issues and give them opportunity to thrive.
“If we think women are not capable, how then are they able to raise children, take care of the home as well as the needs of men; these silent roles that are very important for livelihood are often taken for granted, yet women handle them perfectly so with same managerial skills they can fit into any sector without qualms”, she added.
A dressmaker at the event, Madam Memuna Kipo also encouraged women who had little or no education to endeavour to acquire skills that would help them survive on their own
“I am not educated but I have a skill which gives me income so I want to encourage my colleague females that education is one of the ways to make it in life so if they are unable to access it due to one reason or the other, they should learn a trade and live by it in order to make them beneficial to society”, she stressed.
FROM LYDIA DARLINGTON FORJOUR, WA
African leaders have been urged to strengthen political commitment and domestic investment to end preventable maternal deaths and AIDS by 2030.
The call comes as African health ministers and policymakers meet in Accra to deliberate on health financing, health security and universal health coverage across the continent.
Mr Edouard Bizimana, Burundi’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and Development Cooperation, made the call on Tuesday at the opening of the African Union’s (AU) 25th Extraordinary Summit on Health in Accra.
He said Africa needed increased domestic investment to build resilient health systems as it continued to grapple with infectious diseases and the growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Mr Bizimana, who is also Chairperson of the AU Executive Council, said although Africa accounted for nearly 17 per cent of the world’s population, it bore 24 per cent of the global disease burden while having less than three per cent of the global health workforce and only one per cent of global health expenditure.
“Despite maternal mortality declining by nearly 40 per cent since 2000, Africa still accounts for about 70 per cent of maternal deaths globally, while almost two-thirds of people living with HIV reside on the continent,” he said.
Mr Bizimana said the growing burden of NCDs was placing additional pressure on already stretched health systems.
“These figures are not merely statistics. They represent painful human realities, preventable losses and unacceptable inequalities, they remind us that health is not an expense it is a strategic investment and a prerequisite for our sovereignty and development. “he said.
Mr Bizimana said recent global health emergencies had exposed Africa’s vulnerability and underscored the need to expand local production of medicines and vaccines, strengthen the health workforce and improve emergency preparedness.
“Our citizens expect resilient health systems where every mother can give birth safely, every child has access to essential healthcare and every African enjoys quality health services regardless of where they live,” he said.
The two-day summit, being held ahead of the 20th Extraordinary Session of the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government, has brought together health ministers, policymakers and health stakeholders to identify solutions to Africa’s health financing and security challenges.
Madam Florence Samizi, Tanzania’s Deputy Health Minister, called for stronger collaboration among AU Member States to accelerate progress towards universal health coverage.
The summit is being held on the theme: “Advancing Justice, Equality and Universal Health Coverage: Ending AIDS, Tuberculosis, Improving Maternal Health, Addressing Endemic Non-Communicable and Neglected Tropical Diseases in Africa.”
The meeting is expected to adopt the Accra Declaration, a roadmap to strengthen Africa’s health systems and advance health sovereignty by 2030. -GNA
Senior Lecturer at the University of Ghana’s Department of Political Science, Dr. Joshua Jebuntie Zaato says the imprisonment of the Ashanti Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Bernard Antwi Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi, will have little meaning unless it leads to a broader crackdown on illegal mining.
In a post on his Facebook page on the July 21, 2026, Dr. Zaato said the judgment should mark the beginning of efforts to completely eradicate galamsey and hold all those involved accountable, regardless of their political affiliation.
He said the country must work towards restoring polluted rivers, protecting forests and ensuring that people implicated in illegal mining activities are prosecuted.
According to him, those the President has publicly acknowledged to be involved in galamsey should face prosecution.
He called for the prosecution of district chief executives (DCEs), members of Parliament (MPs) and senior political party officials who have been accused of engaging in or supporting illegal mining.
Dr. Zaato further urged the government to take decisive action to end the destruction of the country’s forests caused by galamsey.
He maintained that the imprisonment of Chairman Wontumi would only have a lasting impact if it results in a comprehensive and impartial fight against illegal mining across the country.
By: Jacob Aggrey
