Editorial
Stop female genital mutilation now
It is so surprising and sad that certain practices that degrade the dignity of women and girls still persist in this sophisticated, tech¬nological age.
Some traditionalists still uphold certain beliefs and practices that affect the rights of women and girls despite the various interventions by advocates.
Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is one of these practices, and it has been prevalent for a long time in Ghana, particularly in the north.
FGM refers to treatments that in¬volve the partial or complete remov¬al of the external female genitalia or other harm to the female genital organs for cultural or other unrelat¬ed, non-medical reasons.
FGM, typically performed on girls between infancy and age 15, under¬mines their rights. It is barbaric, de-structive and diminishes the dignity of women and girls.
It is so distressing that some traditional and tribal beliefs support FGM in Ghana. While some think it promotes a woman’s cleanliness and faithfulness, others view it as a necessary part of raising a girl and a way to prepare her for adulthood and marriage.
The dilemma is how such a primi¬tive approach can be used to control a girl’s sexuality in order to promote premarital virginity and marital faithfulness.
The Spectator demands the aboli¬tion of FGM and condemns the prac¬tice in its entirety. We think that no cultural, religious, or traditional beliefs should be used to support the harmful practice of FGM, which af¬fects the health of women and girls.
According to data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) more than 200 million girls and women alive today have experienced FGM in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia where FGM is still practised.
Although FGM has been practised for more than a thousand years, it is encouraging to know that partner¬ships between the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have seen significant achievements.
According to a 2021 Annual Report on FGM, over six million girls and women got prevention, protec¬tion, and care services connected to FGM through these interventions, and about 45 million people made public commitments to stop FGM.
Additionally, 532,158 females were spared from having FGM.
However, more needs to be done in terms of advocacy and raising awareness because the practice cannot be eradicated in a single generation.
Coordinated and systematic efforts are required to promote the abolition of FGM. These efforts must involve entire communities to con¬centrate on human rights, gender equality, sexual education, and pay attention to the needs of women and girls who experience its effects.
In order to promote awareness, change attitude, and stop harmful traditional practices, NGOs must also collaborate with girls, parents, community leaders, government officials and other stakeholders.
To assist the UN’s efforts to com¬pletely eradicate FGM by 2030, in line with Sustainable Development Goal 5, we urge supporters to step up their efforts to make FGM a thing of the past.
Some women choose not to have children, while others want children but are unable to do so because of uncontrollable circumstances.
Due to social expectations, childless women endure anxiety, loneliness, isolation, and even low self-esteem.
Their problems are made worse by the fact that they are labelled as barren. Owing to their current circumstances, individuals turn to a variety of treatments, including assisted reproductive care, in the hopes that eventually their desires would be fulfilled.
Thankfully, some have been successful and have had multipla children, while others have given up and resorted to adoption as a last choice.
However, there is good news for childless women whose circumstances are beyond their control: the nation’s first intrauterine insemination (IUI) quadruplets have been delivered, offering them hope.
IUI is a common fertility treatment where healthy sperm are collected, ‘washed’ and concentrated in a laboratory, and then directly inserted into a woman’s uterus around ovulation using a thin catheter to help sperm reach the egg for fertilisation, often used for unexplained infertility, cervical issues, or mild male factor infertility, and is less invasive than IVF.
This breakthrough occurred at the Walking Egg Medical and Fertility Centre at Pokuase in Accra, where a 30-year-old surrogate mother delivered a set of quadruplets, a rare surrogacy success that has brought renewed attention to assisted reproductive care in Ghana.
According to our reporter who witnessed the delivery, the babies-two boys and two girls- were delivered through a caesarean section in the early hours of Tuesday at 36 weeks and weighed an average of 2.5 kilogrammes each, a weight doctors say was healthy for a multiple pregnancy.
The Spectator is filled with joy and applauds the Medical Director of the Centre, Dr Nana Yaw Osei, for this great feat which will give hope to women and bring joy to many families.
Describing the moment of delivery, he added, “I was in tears in the theatre. It reminded me why I chose this profession.”
Hear him, “Unlike IVF which could result in multiple babies, this is “possibly the first IUI leading to quadruplets in Ghana.”
He explained that IUI is not planned to result in multiple births adding that “this outcome was left entirely to nature.”
Again, he revealed that “With IUI, you introduce prepared sperm into the uterus and have no control over how many eggs fertilized.”
The revelation is reassuring therefore we encourage couples to plan surrogacy arrangement as in this case the intended mother had lost her uterus during surgery to remove fibroids, making it medically impossible for her to carry a pregnancy.
Dr Osei again indicated that surrogacy, though still widely misunderstood, is recognised under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 2020 (Act 1027).
Although there have been concerns commonly associated with multiple pregnancies, Dr Osei noted that the surrogate experienced no major complications, and the delivery was smooth.
The good news is that “Paediatric assessments conducted after birth confirmed that all four babies are healthy.”
We therefore urge couples to consider surrogacy which is restoring hope to women who have lost the ability to carry a child.
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Dear Editor,
I want to use your respected platform to commend the police administration for the swoops that resulted in the arrest of members of some gangs that operates in Accra and other parts of the country.
These are notorious criminals that are always hell-bent to make life difficult for people.
We may be new in 2026 but it looks like these criminals are not ready to change. In less than two weeks into the New Year, the police has already busted several gang members with dangerous weapons in their possession.
It started in Accra with the arrest of 16 suspected individuals who were involved in various criminal cases including daylight robbers, phone snatching, residential robberies, impersonation and many others.
Following that was the seizure of suspected substances believed to be Indian Hemp in the North Tongu District of the Volta region.
Again, the Greater Accra and Eastern Regional Commands also collaborated well to smash a highway robbery syndicate with seven of the members arrested.
The last I can recount for the first month of the year was the interception of 1,613 parcels of suspected narcotics drugs by the Tema Police Command.
All of these goes to speak about the good work the police is doing to make life comfortable and violence –free for Ghanaians.
Without this commitment from the force, a lot of these activities would not have happen. They did all of these at the peril of their lives.
It is my hope that those arrested would be prosecuted and be made to face the full rigors of the law.
Nana Yaw Amankwaa,
Ofankor
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