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Pathetic stories of women who underwent Female Genital Mutilation
Many women in the north are victims of FGM
Ms Aisha Yakubu, 20, from Pusiga in the Upper East Region of Ghana is among 125 million young women in the world who have permanent scars on their bodies to show after surviving female genital mutilation.
According to Aisha, she was circumcised when she was nine years old although she was told by her mother in advance it would happen to her.
“The circumcision was performed in an elderly woman’s house which few girls of my age were gathered in a form of ceremony,” she said.
The activity looked like an annual festival, where some elderly women were dancing and singing traditional songs. Then, one by one, they began to perform the circumcision.
“The pain was unbearable after several days where I have to remain indoor to be given some herbal medications to heal the wound as well as to relieve me of the pains,” she added.
Female Genital Mutilation, popularly known as Female Circumcision is the partial or complete removal of external female genitalia.
Today, female circumcision is illegal, but the procedure continues to be conducted secretly in some rural communities in Northern Ghana.
Another victim, Charity (not real name), was only nine years old when she also underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) in a village near Pusiga.
According to her, she went into the process willingly believing that was her initiation into adulthood.
Narrating her story to The Spectator, she said she bled for a long time, and this scared other girls ready to undergo FGM then.
Victoria Yakubu, a Community Health Nurse who lives in Tamale, also shared her story of stigmatisation when her friends heard she was a victim of FGM.
“I felt very lonely and unwanted when the people around me knew I had no feeling when making love, it psychologically affected me. But as time went on, I mustered courage to feel who I am,” she added.
Now as a mother of two and an advocate against FGM, she urged the youth, community elders, traditional, religious leaders and parents to make sure innocent girls are not cut mercilessly because of traditional belief.
Mr. Francis Azienko from Pusiga said, “the circumcision is considered part of a cultural tradition performed to preserve young girls’ virginity and prevent pre and extra marital sex, early pregnancy as well as sexual transmitted diseases.
“Though the practice brought pain and scars to the innocent girls, I believe it also helped them to remain faithful,” he said.
Mr, Azienko said, though the procedure had been banned, it was carried out secretly in some communities in the Upper East Region.
From Geoffrey Buta, Pusiga.
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Prof Alidu Seidu files nomination for Tamale Central seat
The newly elected parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Tamale Central, Prof Alidu Seidu, has submitted his nomination forms to the Electoral Commission.
As of 10:00 a.m. today, he was the only person who had filed to contest the seat.
Nomination of candidates will close at the end of the day.
Associate Professor and Head of the Political Science Department at the University of Ghana Legon, Prof. Alidu Seidu won the National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary primaries in the Tamale Central constituency with a landslide victory.
The elections, supervised by the party’s Elections and IT Directorate in the Northern Region, saw Prof. Seidu poll 840 votes out of the total valid ballots cast.
His closest contender, Lawyer Hanan Gundadow Abdul-Rahaman, secured 536 votes.
The other aspirants could not make significant gains, with Dr. Seidu Fiter obtaining 44 votes, Aliu Abdul-Hamid 23 votes, and the rest recording fewer than 10 votes each.
In all, 1,500 ballots were cast, with 6 ballots rejected and 7 spoilt ballots recorded.
The results were signed and declared by Dr. Arnold Mashud Abukari, NDC Northern Regional Director of Elections and IT.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) held parliamentary primaries in Tamale Central to choose a candidate for the upcoming by-election following the death of the sitting Member of Parliament, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed. Dr. Mohammed, who also served as Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, tragically died in a military helicopter crash in the Adansi Akrofuom District on August 6, 2025, alongside seven others.
His passing left the Tamale Central seat vacant, as required by Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
The Electoral Commission has scheduled the by-election for September 30, 2025. While the NDC moved quickly to open nominations and vet aspirants, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) announced it would not contest the seat, citing the need to respect the somber circumstances and promote national unity.
By: Jacob Aggrey
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Ghana to locally refine its gold starting October 2025 – Sammy Gyamfi
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Gold Board, Sammy Gyamfi, has announced that plans are far advanced for the establishment of a state-owned gold refinery in the country.
Speaking at the 2025 Minerals and Mining Convention, Mr Gyamfi said the refinery will process locally mined gold into bullion instead of exporting it in its raw state.
According to him, it is unacceptable that Ghana, despite being a leading gold producer in Africa, continues to export raw gold known as dore.
He explained that the Gold Board, working with the Bank of Ghana and local refineries, will from October 2025 begin refining gold locally.
He also disclosed that an ultramodern assay laboratory will be built to ensure international standards in testing gold quality.
Mr Gyamfi noted that the refinery will be wholly state-owned and will help Ghana move away from raw mineral exports to value addition.
This, he said, will boost foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and position Ghana as a hub for gold refining and jewellery production in Africa.
The CEO stressed that the project forms part of government’s strategy to ensure the country benefits fully from its natural resources and to transform the mining sector into a driver of economic growth.
By: Jacob Aggrey
