Nana Ogyedom Ama Tsetsewa I

The Osumpahen of Gomoa Akyempin Traditional Council, Nana Ogyedom Ama Tsetse­wa I, has asked women to pursue education and skills learning to put value on themselves.

In her view, women were grad­ually relegating issues about their education, skills learning and other ways of putting value on them­selves to the background and rather seemed to be focusing on dressing well to look good.

“Much as a good appearance is not bad in itself, it was gradually becoming the most important thing in the life of many ladies, relegat­ing other ways of adding value to themselves to the background,” she claimed.

Speaking in an interview with The Spectator on Tuesday, Nana Tsetse­wa I said “Enough of the dressing and makeup. Every woman must strive to add intellectual value or have a skill to complement her looks.”

“Now when you engage many young ladies in a conversation, they appear more concerned about wearing makeup, beautiful dresses and pair of shoes. It is so disap­pointing that knowledge acquisition has become secondary,” she said.

Doubling as the Mankrado of Go­moa Oguan and also an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Practi­tioner, she said women play critical role in the society, and as the first person a child comes into contact with, it was good to add quality to her life so that she could pass on same.

Nana Tsetsewa I said the great women recognised in the history of Ghana were not celebrated be­cause of their biological or physical appearance, but because of their intellectual attraction or empower­ment and impact on society.

She said if women did not try harder as a group or individuals to add value to themselves, females would have only a handful of voices to represent them when it comes to making important decisions.

She said that women had all it took to make an impact on fields such as security, engineering, reli­gion, tradition, media, academia, health, among others and urged them to go all out for it.

“Some women have paved the way to show that we can excel wherever we find ourselves. Mrs Gifty Afenyi Dadzie excelled in the Ghanaian media. So was American Talk Show hostess, Oprah Winfrey, in her field. In politics, former Libe­rian President, Ellen Sirleaf John­son, showed her prowess. Warrior queen mother of Ejisu in the Ashan­ti Empire, Yaa Asantewaa, also made an impact on the traditional landscape.”

“If a woman empowers herself, she could stand up for herself and others and so unhealthy practices such as widowhood rites, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and abuse of many forms would be reduced,” she said.

In reference to the axiom “behind every successful man, there is a woman”, she stated that role can be performed in several capacities as wives, mothers, sisters or daugh­ters, adding that “in all of them, women still play roles to inspire greatness in men to make the world a better place”.

She encouraged the youth to in­vest most of their time and energy in education, skills training or any other thing that would make them responsible in future.

Nana Ogyedom Tsetsewa I also advised healthy lifestyles and good eating habits to ensure good health because health is wealth.

 From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema.