Gender
Take control of your financial future …female students urged
Mrs. Janet Acheampong Otoo, Treasurer of the Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills and Entrepreneurial Development (AAMUSTED), has urged young women to take control of their financial future by embracing literacy, confidence, and purposeful planning.
Speaking at the university’s Financial Literacy Summit over the weekend, she emphasized that “money is power” and that women must be empowered with the knowledge and skills to make informed financial decisions.
The summit, organised by the Student Representative Council, was held under the theme “Financial Fitness: Building wealth and securing your future.”
Mrs Acheampong Otoo explained that financial literacy was more than budgeting—”it encompasses saving, investing, and managing debt”.
However, she noted that many women still struggle due to a confidence gap that hinders their ability to create and follow effective financial plans.
“Financial independence is about freedom, confidence, and the ability to pursue your dreams,” she said. “As women, we have the power to shape our own futures and contribute meaningfully to society and family life.”
She encouraged female students to attend workshops, read widely, and avoid impulsive spending on beauty and lifestyle. “Every financial decision should align with your long-term vision,” she added. “Believe in yourself. Lead the charge.”
Joining the conversation, the Municipal Chief Executive of Sekyere South, Mr Evans Amo Twumasi, called financial literacy one of the most overlooked foundations in nation-building.
“In today’s world, the line between economic survival and financial freedom is drawn not by luck but by knowledge and discipline,” Mr Amo said. “Money may be finite, but knowledge is infinite—and financial discipline is the bridge between them.”
He stressed that financial fitness was not just about saving or spending, but understanding the value of a cedi, the cost of each decision, and the power of forward planning. With the right mindset and habits, he said, anyone can achieve economic resilience and long-term success.
Mr Amo urged students to embrace financial education as a tool for personal transformation and national progress. “The future does not belong to those who merely wish for wealth—it belongs to those who plan it, save it, and work for it,” he said.
He also called for policies that strengthen entrepreneurship and youth empowerment and encouraged students to respect money and use it with purpose.
Other speakers included Dr Evans Duah, Dr Prince Gyimah and Prof. Joseph Mbawuni, all lecturers at the University.
From Kingsley E. Hope
Across many farming communities in Northern Ghana, women routinely carry their infants on their backs while engaging in strenuous farm labour. This practice, though rooted in necessity and resilience, exposes both mothers and their babies to significant health risks, particularly musculoskeletal strain and developmental concerns.
For these women, the decision to take babies to the farm is rarely optional. It reflects the absence of affordable childcare, entrenched gender roles, and persistent economic pressures that compel women to combine farming, childcare, and household duties simultaneously.
Everyday Reality
In many rural communities in Northern Ghana, women begin their day before sunrise, balancing farm work with domestic responsibilities such as fetching water and firewood, cooking, and caring for children. Carrying infants on their backs, strapped with cloth, enables them to breastfeed and monitor their babies while going about their farming activities.
The use of outdated tools increases the risk of sprains and strains. Exposure to pesticides, extreme heat, and zoonotic infections further endanger women, especially those who are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Effects on Mothers
Dr. Enoch Harvoh, a Senior Medical Doctor at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, explained in an interview with GNA that the primary health risks stem from prolonged physical strain. He identified several key concerns, including musculoskeletal pain, postural changes, chronic fatigue, injury risk, and other hazards such women face.
Dr. Harvoh explained that musculoskeletal issues such as chronic lower back, upper back, neck, and shoulder pain are common among women who farm with babies on their backs. He added that back-carrying alters spinal alignment, increasing pelvic tilt and causing abnormal curvature of the spine, medically described as cervokypholordotic posture.
The combination of farming, domestic work, and childcare leads to severe physical exhaustion and stress, while frequent bending, squatting, and lifting further contribute to physical strain.
Effects on Infants
While back-carrying supports bonding and infant safety, prolonged exposure in farm environments presents risks to infants. These include:
- Lower limb development concerns
- Restricted movement and visual stimulation
- Potentially affected sensorimotor development
- Exposure to farm hazards including chemicals, machinery, and excessive heat
According to Dr. Harvoh, some studies link extended back-carrying to changes in leg alignment, such as genu valgum (knock-knees), though these are often within normal clinical limits.
Labour and Time Constraints
Women face chronic labour shortages, especially during peak farming seasons. Combined with unpaid domestic work and childcare, this creates extreme physical and mental strain.
Madam Saada Abdul, a farmer from Kpadjai in the Kpandai District, told GNA that she regularly carries her baby while weeding, harvesting, transporting crops, and cooking. “The work is very hard, and the baby’s weight adds to the pain in my back and waist. I hardly get time to rest compared to my husband,” she said.
Similarly, Madam Ramatu Iddris from the Nawuri community explained that women often prioritise labour on their husbands’ farms, reducing productivity on their own plots. Limited access to tractors, credit, extension services, and market information forces many women to rely on manual labour while carrying their babies.
These compounded challenges heighten women’s vulnerability to climate shocks such as drought, erratic rainfall, and economic downturns.
Intersecting Challenges
The practice of carrying babies to farms is embedded within broader structural inequalities. Customary inheritance systems largely favour men, leaving women with limited access to land. Many women farm on their husbands’ plots or borrow small, less fertile parcels of land, discouraging long-term investment and access to credit or extension services.
Women account for more than half of Ghana’s agricultural labour force, particularly in subsistence farming in the Northern Sector, yet much of their work remains informal and undervalued, with limited recognition in economic planning and policy frameworks.
Resilience and Coping Strategies
Despite these hardships, Northern women farmers demonstrate remarkable resilience. Common coping mechanisms include forming women’s farming groups to access training, credit, and inputs. Livelihood diversification, such as engaging in shea butter processing, poultry rearing, petty trading, charcoal production, and seasonal migration, can help supplement income.
Recommendations
Stakeholders in agriculture, health, and local governance must prioritise targeted interventions to reduce the physical burden on women farmers. Key recommendations include:
- Establishing community-based childcare centres to reduce the need to carry babies to farms
- Providing practical ergonomic training on safe lifting, posture, and culturally appropriate baby-carrying techniques
- Improving access to appropriate farm tools and small-scale mechanisation
- Strengthening workplace protections through rest breaks, access to potable water, and protective equipment
- Formally recognising women’s unpaid care and agricultural labour in national and district development planning
Health professionals also recommend targeted strengthening and stretching exercises for the lower back and pelvic muscles to mitigate long-term physical strain associated with combined farming and childcare responsibilities.
Conclusion
Women farmers are indispensable to Ghana’s food security and rural livelihoods. Yet their contributions come at a high personal cost due to systemic inequities, limited support services, and entrenched gender roles.
Addressing the health and productivity challenges faced by women who farm with babies on their backs is not only a matter of equity but a critical investment in national development, public health, and future generations.
—GNA
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A training and capacity-building workshop was held on Thursday for the media to intensify coverage on gender-based issues to support women’s participation in leadership and governance in Accra.
The workshop, held under the theme ‘Strengthening Advocacy for the Implementation of Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Equity) Law, 2024 – The Case of the Media’, brought together journalists from selected media houses.
The Convener of the Affirmative Action (AA) Law Coalition, Ms Sheila Minka-Premo (Esq.), stressed that the media has a critical responsibility to educate the public on the importance of the Affirmative Action Act, noting that sustained and informed reporting would strengthen advocacy and support the effective implementation of the law.
While commending both the Legislature and the Executive for the passage and presidential assent of the Affirmative Action Bill into law, the AA Law Coalition Convener appealed to government to address existing gaps. These include the constitutional provision of 30 per cent women’s representation in politics, inadequate policy frameworks to advance affirmative action, and weak compliance by state institutions.
She charged the media to highlight and promote the role of women in leadership and to actively support a smooth and effective implementation process of the Act.
In her welcome address, Executive Director of ABANTU for Development, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said the training sought to strengthen journalists’ advocacy skills to enable them to educate the public on the provisions and significance of the law.
Dr Mensah-Kutin commended ActionAid Ghana for supporting the advocacy efforts, urging the media to prioritise the law to ensure its sustainability.
The Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121) was passed by Parliament in July 2024 and received presidential assent in September 2024, following years of sustained advocacy by women’s rights organisations, gender activists, and other stakeholders.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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