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Parents, adolescents sensitised on positive masculinity, gender equality, GBV
Some parents and adolescents in the North East Region have been sensitised on positive masculinity, gender equality, gender-based violence (GBV) and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) to promote safer and more supportive family environments.
These series of dialogues were held separately at Tinguri in the West Mamprusi Municipality, Chereponi, Bunkprugu and Yunyoo in the region, and facilitated by the Department of Gender and the Ghana Health Service with support by the United Nations Population Fund.
The dialogues provided opportunity for participants to discuss gender roles, harmful cultural practices, adolescent health, and ways of preventing teenage pregnancy, child marriage, and GBV.
Madam Bushira Alhassan, Northern Regional Director, Department of Gender, who facilitated the session on positive masculinity, gender equality and GBV during the dialogues, explained that positive masculinity involved promoting healthy attitudes and behaviours among boys and men including recognising that expressing emotions or showing vulnerability did not make a man weak.
She highlighted the importance of sharing household roles and responsibilities among family members saying domestic work should not be regarded as the sole responsibility of women and girls.
She sensitised participants on forced, early and child marriage and its negative consequences for adolescent girls, families and society including its potential effects on girls’ health, education, and future opportunities.
Madam Alhassan said both fathers and mothers had important responsibilities in guiding, protecting, and counselling their children and providing them with a safe and supportive environment.
She encouraged parents to use family, community, and social gatherings as opportunities to educate others about positive masculinity, gender equality, GBV, and harmful cultural practices.
Madam Rabiatu Zakari, a Midwife at the North East Regional Health Directorate, who spoke on adolescent development and SRHR, underscored need for parents to create an environment where adolescents could freely discuss issues concerning their bodies, menstruation, sexuality and reproductive health without fear or embarrassment.
She said the region faced serious challenges with teenage pregnancy and unsafe abortion, cautioning that an increase in teenage pregnancy could result in a corresponding increase in unsafe abortion and its associated health risks.
She indicated that abstinence from sexual intercourse remained the best way for adolescents to prevent unintended pregnancy.
Madam Zakari advised adolescents, who were sexually active, to seek accurate SRHR information and use appropriate contraceptive methods to prevent unintended pregnancies stressing the importance of responsible choices and access to reproductive health services.
She cautioned that repeated unintended pregnancies coupled with inadequate reproductive health information and support could expose adolescent girls to serious health and social consequences, including unsafe abortion.
Some of the participants said the training had helped them understand the need to distribute household roles and responsibilities more equally among family members thereby reducing the workload burden on women and girls. – GNA
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GES directs Ashanti Regional, Obuasi Municipal Education Directors to step aside over Obuasi SHTS scandal
The Management of the Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed the Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Dr. William Amankrah Appiah, and the Obuasi Municipal Director of Education, Mr. Kwamena Owusu-Nketiah, to step aside with immediate effect.
The directive forms part of ongoing investigations into allegations of sexual misconduct involving the headmaster of Obuasi Senior High Technical School (SHTS), Mr. Zakaria Abdulai.
According to GES, the decision is intended to ensure that the investigations proceed without potential interference, nor the perception of it.
The two directors are to hand over their offices and all state property in their possession to the Deputy Ashanti Regional Director of Education, Mr. Thomas Kwame Boateng.
Management added that the headmaster, Mr. Zakaria Abdulai, also remains interdicted and therefore urged the public to ignore any news circulating that he has been cleared.
Management is calling for calm, support and cooperation as thorough investigations into the matter continue.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, has joined the family of the late Professor Jason Atta Kwei Arday, the Ghanaian community in the UK, and other dignitaries for a memorial service in Southwark, UK.
In a post, Mr. Ablakwa described the service as deeply moving and unforgettable, held in honour of the late professor’s memory.
According to him, in keeping with the government’s pledge, he joined the family, Ghana’s High Commissioner to London, British MPs, Ministers, the Mayor of London, Cambridge scholars, Prof. Arday’s students and loved ones to pay respects and honour his inspiring legacy.
Mr. Ablakwa noted that Prof. Arday’s accomplishments as the youngest Black professor appointed at the University of Cambridge and his widely appreciated charitable contributions will continue to inspire generations.
“The Government and People of Ghana will continue to stand by our compatriots everywhere they are in the world. As we do so, we profess our commitment to justice, equality and the creation of a new world,” he said.
He prayed for fortitude for the family in what he described as an extraordinarily difficult time.
“We shall always remember Prof. Arday for his response when asked what he will wish to do to change the world: ‘I would take a thread and a needle, and I’d interweave love into our society’,” Mr. Ablakwa added.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
