Gender
Stigmatisation of infertile male spouses also high
In Ghana, when couples are unable to have children of their own, it is the women who are mostly deemed to be stigmatised and ridiculed for their inability to have children.
However, according to experts, male stigmatisation is also high with theirs done subtly, causing them to take in all kinds of drugs and aphrodisiacs to boost their ability and to help them solve their problems.
Some are teased and mocked by their wives, relations and friends also give them several names depicting their problem.
The situation is causing some infertile men to lose their confidence, some have developed low self-esteem while others push the blame on their spouses or commit suicide.
In an exclusive interview on the issue with Dr Francis Vinkpenuba Wuobar, an Obstetrician Gynaecologist from the Eastern Regional Hospital, he explained that male stigmatisation was real, adding that it is causing a lot of sub fertile men to suffer emotionally and therefore called on the public to stop all forms of stigmatisation of infertile couples and rather show love and give them support.
He explained that “men take ridicule and stigma rather poorly than women and tend to internalise their emotions which cause them to lose their ego. The concept of not being a man enough is devastating.”
“Sometimes, some men who are deemed infertile in a bid to remain emotionally stable rather take the blame out unto their partners and this may cause them to avoid seeking help altogether,” he added.
He lamented that stigmatisation was one of the reasons some men refused to go to the hospital with their spouses to go through tests when a couple have problems with their fertility, adding that stigmatisation may worsen the problem or prolong it.
Dr Wuobar explained that child bearing involves a lot of process which can be interrupted and cause infertility, revealing that infertility in men can be as a result of dysfunctional sperm, prostrate, dysfunctional testes among others.
“Even at the production stage, an interruption can occur, it could be a problem with the testes which at a child stage may have not descended well into the scrotum or because of poor temperatures among others.”
He said it is only on a few occasions that some men may accept they have a problem attributing their reluctance to the stigma that they may go through.
The Obstetrician Gynaecologist called on the public to desist from subtly mocking men or infertile couples in general and rather encourage and support them to seek help.
He also encouraged such couples to live healthy lifestyles, prevent and treat infections promptly as well as seek medical attention early.
Kwabena (not real names) who has been married to his wife, Akua for over 30 years and lives in Tema told The Spectator that his wife left home and married another man because he was unable to impregnate her after he was diagnosed with low sperm count.
He said the situation made him lose his respect before his wife, friends and relatives who subtly stigmatised him and called him names.
He said he has been unmarried since and adopted two children he was taking care of. He, therefore, called on people to stop stigmatising men and rather encourage them to seek help when necessary, adding that wives are supposed to support their husbands.
Adu, also told the Spectator the he has been married for 15 years without a child, adding that it has not been a pleasant situation and called on the public to desist from stigmatising infertile couples.
“You feel it more when your colleague has delivered and you hear people tell him you are a man, it’s terrible.”
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
Gender
WiSA launched to accelerate growth, close gender inequality gap
Women in Sustainability Africa (WiSA) has been launched in Accra with an aim to accelerate growth and the closure of gender inequality gap.
Speaking at the launch, the Convenor for WiSA, Nana Yaa Serwaa Sarpong, said that, “Gender inequality gap cannot be closed by women alone, calling for catalytic efforts to cause a revolution in order to achieve such goal.”
Madam Sarpong also stated that, “this is the new beginning of gender empowerment and the new wave which must be propagated across Africa without any antagonism.”
She said the key to bridging gender inequality gap is two sided, saying that, “First is men standing side by side with women and secondly, the recognition of women as a source of labour with positive return on every investment that is made to build capacity in women.”
Additionally, Madam Sarpong underlined that the organisation will work with men, ‘he or she’ champions, CSOs, Corporate Institutions, local and International Development Organisations to bring all women and women groups together (especially those at the grassroots level) to foster the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across Africa.
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, said recognising the proportionate impact of climate change on women, the Ministry has developed a roadmap to strengthen gender responsiveness of social protection programmes.
According to her, this initiative aims to ensure that their interventions were inclusive, equitable and effective in building resilience among vulnerable populations.
The campaign will be celebrated as part of the activities of May 1, and throughout the month of May every year.
She disclosed that in partnership with WiSA and other stakeholders.
Dr Lartey again indicated that he Ministry will use the campaign to recognise women nationally and continentally as sources of labour and agents of sustainability.
Furthermore, the Minister stated that the campaign would be rolled out in schools, media platforms and community spaces.
The Minister of State in charge of Climate Change and Sustainability, Issifu Seidu, on his part said, “African women have always been the backbone of our communities, playing key roles in agriculture, healthcare, education, and the informal economy.
However, he noted that their contributions remain undervalued and underappreciated in many spheres of society.
By Esinam Jemima Kuatsinu
Gender
Plan International Ghana’s intervention enhances girls’ education
Plan International Ghana’s adolescent girls’ intervention in some communities in northern Ghana has helped retain adolescent girls in school and enhance their education to enable them to achieve their life aspirations.
These interventions included the adolescent Drop-in Centres, school Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities, improved access to and use of sanitary pads and changing rooms for girls.
The Drop-in Centres had been equipped with indoor and outdoor games, including ludu, oware, and footballs and a television set, to keep the girls lively while going through mentorship and sensitisation at the Centre.
That became known during a field visit to the Mimima, Sagadugu and Guabuliga communities in the North East Region, where those interventions were being implemented to ascertain the impact of the projects on the people.
The visit was to climax a three-day capacity-building workshop for some journalists and media practitioners in northern Ghana organised by Plan International Ghana, a development and humanitarian Non-governmental Organisation (NGO).
At the Mimima community, where a Drop-in Centre had been constructed, some adolescent girls told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview that the Centre was empowering them to take responsibility for their bodies.
Agnes, 14 (not her real name), said they were receiving Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights (ASRHR) education, including menstrual hygiene management, which had enhanced their dignity.
She noted that had enabled them stay in school during their menstrual periods, ensuring their effective participation in academic activities and improving their educational performances.
Ms Hamdya Baaba, the facilitator at the Drop-in Centre at Mimima, said she had been teaching the girls good menstrual hygiene management and SRHR to prevent them from pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
Some parents in the community also praised the interventions as they saved their girl children from using rags to manage their menstruation.
“Some of us used to fold rags for our girl children during their menstrual periods, and because of that, they sometimes stained themselves with blood. But when Plan International Ghana came to this community, it taught the girls how to use sanitary pads.”
The NGO also gave the girls some reusable sanitary pads that they can always wash and use, and because of that, the girls are always in school even during their menstrual periods,” Madam Abena Miyanga, a parent, stated.
The Mimima community is also benefiting from the Educational Outcome Fund (EOF) project, where out-of-school children from the age of eight to 16 receive a nine-month cycle of literacy and numeracy training through Complementary Basic Education (CBE) and were integrated into the mainstream education.
Madam Miyanga told the GNA that her child, who dropped out of school, had returned and was currently in basic five through the EOF’s CBE programme.
Eleven-year-old Magdalene, a participant of the project and currently in basic six, expressed gratitude to Plan International Ghana for the intervention, as it had given her the opportunity to acquire formal education.
The Integrated Package for Sustainable Development (IPADEV) project constructed a WASH facility and girls’ changing rooms at the Sagadugu R/C Basic School to ensure safe access to WASH services and a place for menstrual hygiene management while in school. —GNA
