Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister, Otiko Afisa Djaba, is concerned about the timid nature of some Ghanaian women, and has therefore entreated them to be bold.
She believes this does not help in the development of their potential.
At an event to mark World Women’s Day which fell yesterday and attended by President Akufo-Addo, the Minister threw an open challenge to women, especially in Ghana, to muster courage to take their place where they belong.
Charge
“At 60, nobody is going to give you your right; you must be bold to take it,” she charged.
That, she said, was because “we have earned the right to be respected in this country by our sons and daughters; we must be fearless and we must cherish our role as mothers, as women. We are the vessels of creation; we are the nurturers of the whole of society and there is no reason why we must be silent.
“We must be bold in our quest for the development, in our involvement, it is not enough to say ‘give me my right,’” Ms Otiko Djaba charged Ghanaian women.
While expressing concern about the fact that the enforcement of the rights of women and children is still lacking, the minister assured, “This is what the Ministry of Gender is going to undertake – to have dialogue – and as a rural development practitioner and as a victim of discrimination myself, we will go down to the villages, to the communities, to the hamlets across the country, wherever there are Ghanaians, to ensure that our destinies are going to be handled by ourselves.”
Madam Djaba insisted, “You must ensure that those rights are fulfilled. I celebrate all the women in this blessed country and promise my undying commitment to the cause and wellbeing of women, the disabled, the vulnerable, the aged, the kayayei [head porters], the commercial sex workers across the country and those in ‘galamsey’ in the rural areas.”
President’s Address
On his part, President Akufo-Addo congratulated Ghanaian women and women the world over on their immense contribution to the development of every human endeavour.
Without them, he was sure the world would not have been a better place to live in.
“If the country should develop, it will be partly dependent on your efforts and goodwill because you form a bulk majority of the population,” President Akufo-Addo noted, while asking women to put their efforts together for government to support their cause.
He further reiterated his government’s commitment to assisting women in the areas of trade, education and various sectors of the economy, stressing the hope and belief that “a year by now we would have fulfilled lots of the promises we made to you the Ghanaian women.”
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