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Don’t limit Women’s Day celebration to empowerment — Physiotherapist
Having monitored the media landscape for a long time specifically on women related issues during International Women’s Day, no light is shed on women’s sexual activities as there are on entrepreneurship and women fitting into the corporate world among other pertinent issues bordering on femininity.
Renowned physiotherapist and specialist in men’s and women’s health, Ms Anna Hughton, who made the observation said that though painful sex was one of the very debilitating conditions that women experienced, it was one of the least conditions mentioned in our part of the world.
Ms Anna Hughton, is the Clinic Director of the Accra Physiotherapy and Sport Injury Clinic,
Accra.
Speaking with The Spectator Gender on gender health related conditions, she said that painful sex (dyspareunia) was an aching or burning pain either during penetration, during sex or even after sex.
She was quick to add that, “the case is even worse for some women who also experience pains during cleaning of the vagina, or inserting tampons, or anything with any kind of internal penetration, so it can be that it’s not only during sex, but could be even cleaning. Even if you use a tampon and you insert, it can cause pain”.
She stressed that, in a lot of instances women just put up with the pains they experienced during sex but Ms Hughton declared that, that status quo must change through education and sentisitisation for women to acknowledge the condition and seek help immediately.
Sexual activities are part of life and women must as well enjoy it just as their husbands and partners do.
“Having good sexual act is part of our life and part of femininity and if that doesn’t function well and you don’t also consider it that it’s an important aspect of you which contributes towards you being a female, then it is very unfortunate”, she said.
Causes
The list of causes and reason some women have painful sex is non exhaustive but Ms Hughton said, “If you’re a virgin, the initial sexual intercourse can be painful but experiencing pains afterwards is not right”.
Though some women could experience painful sex after delivery especially if they had cut,
women in their menopausal age could also have pains during sex. It could be because of endometriosis (a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus)
Having had fibroids, medical abortion, prolapse (a bulging or falling out of a body part, such as the rectum or vagina, that commonly occurs because of weakened pelvic muscle), pelvic inflammatory disease could be reasons some women experience painful sex.
Additionally, women who have had hysterectomy, removal of fibroids, or other kinds of surgical procedures can cause a trauma.
Women who have irritable bowel syndrome (repeated pain in your abdomen and changes in your bowel movements, which may cause diarrhoea, constipation, or both) could unlikely experience painful sexual activity.
Again, some women who have very tight pelvic floor muscles or women who have had abortion are also likely to experience pains during sex.
In subsequent write-up, we shall throw more light on the effects of painful sex on women and marriages and the role of husbands and partners during sex and solutions.
By Portia Hutton-Mills
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
