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Stop abusing girls under Pretext of showing love
Ms Juliana Abbeyquaye
The Acting Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Ms Juliana Abbeyquaye has advised the youth, especially young girls not to allow themselves to be sexually abused in the name of being shown love.
According to her, many of them were being sexually abused under the pretext of being shown love by their perpetrators who violently attack them.
She indicated that “the society we live in has created a perception that when someone shows an act of love or gives you a gift, you must also return the gesture. This has led to many young children, especially young girls allowing themselves to be abused by their perpetrators.”
Ms Abbeyquaye gave the advice in an exclusive interview after a National Youth Dialogue organised by the Planned Parenthood Association of Ghana (PPAG) through its youth wing, Youth Action Movement (YAM) in Koforidua.
The dialogue on the theme: “ Promoting Gender Equality: Mobilising Youth Against Sexual Gender Based Violence (SGBV) in Communities, brought together stakeholders, policy makers, duty bearers, traditional and religious leaders and youth together.
It was aimed to empower young people to take a stand against Sexually Gender- Based Violence in society.
It was also purposed to create a platform to deliberate on SGBV issues and the way forward as a country to eliminate its practices.
Ms Abbeyquaye reiterated the need to educate the youth, especially young girls to be aware of their rights and sgbvs and be able to detect whether they were being sexually abused or not.
“Most girls do not know about sgbvs and it has been the reason why a lot of them have been abused because their perpetrators make them feel they love them and have to beat or rape them as a sign of love,” she stated.
She added “the fact that you are in a relationship with someone and you buy things for the person, does not mean you should abuse the person. We have to create awareness on the fact that someone does not have to abuse you because he or she gives you a gift.”
Ms Abbeyquaye indicated that SGBV were not taught enough “and this explains how a boy can just hit a girl’s buttocks and go free.”
She said such acts were abuses and stated that creating awareness among the youth, especially young girls, would empower them to stand up for themselves and be assertive as well as speak up when they are engaged in such abuses.
That, she said would help to reduce the high number of cases on SGBV in communities in the country, especially when Ghana was slated to end SGBV by 2030.
She stated the need for all stakeholders to build synergies and put in more efforts and logistics to create awareness among the youth and community members to reduce the number of cases on SGBV in the country.
For her part, the Focal Gender Person for PPAG, Ms Naadu Adico urged stakeholders to use social media to drive social change and end sgbvs in an effort to create awareness on the issue.
She said the social media platform has broken the bureaucracy to reach duty bearers and has made it possible to break the silence and share experiences as well as find solidarity for victims of SGBV.
She said through social media, a lot of people have received justice for the less privileged by enabling or amplifying their voices to seek for change.
She called on stakeholders to create more awareness among the youth and community members and guide them to use social media to propagate issues of SGBV issues, while respecting community guidelines and not infringing on other people’s rights.
A pupil of Nana Kwaku Boateng Basic School, Benedicta Takyi for her part, explained that the dialogue has increased her knowledge on the subject matter, adding that previously she thought some abuses were normal.
From Ama Tekyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman, Koforidua
The professor who spends his days exploring the intricacies of African languages found himself at the centre of a different kind of lesson on Friday, October 2, 2026. 
This time, there were no lecture notes, academic arguments or university classrooms. Instead, there was the weight of tradition, the rhythm of a community celebration and the solemnity of an oath at a royal palace.
Professor Ọbádélé Kambon, a full Professor of African Linguistics at the University of Ghana, was enstooled as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene of Akuapem Mampong in the Eastern Region in a ceremony that brought academia and traditional authority together.
For the professor, the occasion was more than a new title. It was a moment that connected his academic interests in African languages and indigenous knowledge with the living traditions of an Akan community.
The day’s events unfolded through a series of customary observances. Kambon was first taken to the compounds of the Ɔkyeamehene and Gyasehene, where the preparations for his installation continued.
Then came the application of hyire, the white kaolin powder associated with traditional rites.
With the customary proceedings underway, the new chief was lifted onto the shoulders of celebrants and carried along the main thoroughfare of Akuapem Mampong.
The procession transformed the streets into a public stage for a ceremony rooted in the community’s traditional institutions.
There was something striking about the image, a university professor, accustomed to the measured language of academic discourse, being carried through the town in a display of traditional recognition.
Yet the celebration was not complete with the procession.
A ram was sacrificed at the Mamponghene’s compound before Kambon was taken to the palace, to swear the oath associated with his new offices.
The ceremony brought him formally into his roles as Apagyahene and Sunsum Ɔsahene.
Beyond the colourful proceedings, the titles themselves carry layers of historical meaning.
Kambon in his research explores the historical connections between Apagya and Akan political and military organisation.
Accounts cited in his work linked Apagya to an asafo, or military company, while historical writing traces an Apagya stool in Asante to the reign of Opoku Ware I in the eighteenth century.
These historical associations offer a glimpse into the institutions that have shaped Akan society over generations, although they do not automatically define the precise responsibilities of the office in Akuapem Mampong.
Kambon’s own professional life reflects a similar interest in preserving and examining African knowledge.
His work encompasses Akan language structure, naming practices across the Black world, proverbs and indigenous intellectual traditions.
Through Abibitumi, the platform he founded, he also promotes language learning, scholarship and cultural engagement.
But tradition was only one part of the story that day.
When the formal ceremony gave way to a reception, the occasion expanded into a celebration of three milestones: Kambon’s enstoolment, his promotion to full professor and his daughter Ama’s admission to the University of Ghana.
The gathering therefore carried a personal significance that went beyond the honours bestowed on one man. 
It celebrated professional advancement, the continuation of family aspirations and a connection to cultural heritage.
For a father, seeing a daughter gain admission to the same university where he holds a distinguished academic position offered another reason to celebrate.
For the professor, the moment placed family achievement alongside his own professional and traditional milestones.
Kambon had already established a place in the traditional life of Akuapem Mampɔn through an earlier installation as Banmuhene Kyidɔmhene, recorded in 2017.
His latest enstoolment adds another chapter to that relationship.
In Akuapem Mampɔn, the day brought together the university, the palace and the family table in one celebration. And for Kambon, the journey from the lecture room to the traditional procession showed how scholarship, cultural responsibility and family achievement could converge in a single memorable occasion.
By Enoch Ntiamoah Siaw
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Intercity STC Coaches Limited has interdicted a driver captured in a viral video allegedly hitting a Sprinter bus during an overtaking manoeuvre at Pokuase before driving away from the scene.
In a public notice, the company described the driver’s conduct as unacceptable, stressing that it did not reflect the safety standards and professionalism it upholds.
Management said it had commenced an immediate investigation into the incident and identified the driver, who has been interdicted pending the outcome of the disciplinary process.
The company added that it was awaiting an official report from the Pokuase Police Command to help establish the facts surrounding the incident.
STC reaffirmed its commitment to passenger safety and responsible road use, while thanking members of the public for bringing the incident to its attention.
Management assured the public that appropriate action would be taken following the investigation.
By: Jacob Aggrey
