Gender
Women urged to strive for success, not liabilities to husbands
An Entrepreneur and Politician, Ms Eunice Lasi, has urged young girls to strive for success and support their husbands, rather than becoming liabilities.
Speaking at the Ada Youth Summit held last Thursday, she emphasised the importance of girls attaining the highest possible level of education, developing their careers or becoming successful entrepreneurs in order to contribute meaningfully to their households.
“The narrative that girls do not need to work because they will be taken care of by their husbands must change. Men need supportive women as well,” she stated.
“It is therefore important for girls not to feel intimidated by their male counterparts, but stand up and pursue success,” she added.
Ms Lasi noted that whether in business or politics, women must remain focused and determined, while cultivating self-worth and self-respect in order to reach the top.
Ms Lasi, who contested as an independent candidate for the Sege Constituency in the 2024 elections, stressed that women should not limit themselves to the kitchen.
She noted that the perception that women belonged in the kitchen was gradually changing.
However, she stressed that it would require more women to rise, be visible and make a difference.
According to her, there were numerous opportunities available to girls, as many organisations were actively seeking to employ women.
She argued that women were often better business managers than men and should not be restricted to settling down in marriage alone.
She encouraged business leaders, especially women to mentor and support young girls to become entrepreneurs and job creators.
Ms Lasi also commended the organisers of the summit, themed “Paradigm Shift,” for their efforts in inspiring change in mindset among women and society at large.
“Let us work towards creating more platforms like this for the youth of Ada to raise their voices and be heard,” she stated.
The summit brought together traditional leaders, politicians and entrepreneurs to discuss key developmental issues, including governance, entrepreneurship and technology.
By Spectator Reporter
A training and capacity-building workshop was held on Thursday for the media to intensify coverage on gender-based issues to support women’s participation in leadership and governance in Accra.
The workshop, held under the theme ‘Strengthening Advocacy for the Implementation of Ghana’s Affirmative Action (Equity) Law, 2024 – The Case of the Media’, brought together journalists from selected media houses.
The Convener of the Affirmative Action (AA) Law Coalition, Ms Sheila Minka-Premo (Esq.), stressed that the media has a critical responsibility to educate the public on the importance of the Affirmative Action Act, noting that sustained and informed reporting would strengthen advocacy and support the effective implementation of the law.
While commending both the Legislature and the Executive for the passage and presidential assent of the Affirmative Action Bill into law, the AA Law Coalition Convener appealed to government to address existing gaps. These include the constitutional provision of 30 per cent women’s representation in politics, inadequate policy frameworks to advance affirmative action, and weak compliance by state institutions.
She charged the media to highlight and promote the role of women in leadership and to actively support a smooth and effective implementation process of the Act.
In her welcome address, Executive Director of ABANTU for Development, Dr Rose Mensah-Kutin, said the training sought to strengthen journalists’ advocacy skills to enable them to educate the public on the provisions and significance of the law.
Dr Mensah-Kutin commended ActionAid Ghana for supporting the advocacy efforts, urging the media to prioritise the law to ensure its sustainability.
The Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121) was passed by Parliament in July 2024 and received presidential assent in September 2024, following years of sustained advocacy by women’s rights organisations, gender activists, and other stakeholders.
By Linda Abrefi Wadie
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STEMINIST Foundation, Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with support from Keta Ramsar Centre has trained about 25 women selected from the Keta Municipality on the rights of women and how to use them for their voices to be heard in their communities.
STEMinist Foundation, Ghana, is a network of women advocating equal opportunities through excellent representation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
The women, mostly fishmongers and other self-styled workers, were taken through topics such as Understanding Energy and Climate Justice, Fossil Gas Expansion, Livelihoods’ Care Work and Health, Women Leadership, and Power Building among others.
Mrs Nerissa Edem Anku, Gender Justice Transition Advisor of the Foundation, noted that the theme “Energy Justice: Empowering Women with Power, Rights and Dignity,” was chosen for the women to reconnect, reflect, and look ahead in shaping their rights as women.
She stated that women have been relegated to the background in the communities when it comes to decision making, stressing the need to correct that for them to know they have rights to fight for themselves.
Mrs Nerissa Edem Anku further noted that women in fishing communities wanted to see real and tangible improvements in their living conditions, spearheaded by government to prevent unhealthy confrontations with the local people.
She assured that the NGO would continue to strengthen its programmes to ensure that women were empowered to contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of their families, communities, and the nation.
Miss Portia Adu-Mensah, Facilitator, Community Mobilisation Communicator, on her part added that all stakeholders have to adopt more innovative steps to build an environment in which women can thrive. That, she said, would win the confidence of the women and promote more inclusive partnerships.
The Assemblywoman for Dzelukope, Ruby Adukpoh, on behalf of the women thanked the NGO for the gesture and reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening their collective voices and influence in shaping policies that will affect them.
From Kafui Gati, Keta
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