Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, First Lady
The role of women in raising families and the propping of the economies of countries on the continent is enormous. In spite of such efforts though, they suffer myriad challenges and are often relegated to the background in the scheme of things. They have no voice to express concerns about important issues about their lives – male chauvinism reducing them to nothingness.
Most of them are uneducated but having discovered the importance of education, they are ready to sacrifice to have their children access education.
In some cultures, these efforts are thwarted by fathers and extended family members who consider such contributions as affront to their authorities in the homes especially when it comes to the girl-child.
Today, as we celebrate the woman, we deem it important to beam the spotlight on this special gender who bear children in their wombs for nine months to sustain procreation. Indeed as the source of life, they deserve more than they get in society.
In societies experiencing the dearth of amenities such as water and others, women are hewers of wood and drawers of water.
Cultural norms, as observed by some women, continue to restrict the ability of women to advance beyond certain notches, if at all.
In societies considered civilized and where the space is seen to be accommodative of women, they are subjected to challenges which are difficult to fathom.
They are hardly at par with their male counterparts. We recall the petition from a female staff at the BBC complaining about shortcomings in the treatment of female staff of the renowned media establishment.
If such shortcomings prevail in places like the UK, the occurrences in our part of the world can be anybody’s guess.
Sexist moves by prospective employers continue to feature in some establishments and the victims unable to voice their predicament for fear of losing the jobs they are looking for.
The equality of the sexes obtains only in the books but non-existent in real life situations. When our daughters and even wives go seeking what is due them with men in charge, what they go through can only be imagined.
Even as we celebrate the woman, we would like to restrict our celebration to the African woman whose circumstances are peculiar and more challenging than their European counterparts.
Efforts to apply the quota system in the legislature so women can have a loud voice in parliament are yet to yield the desired results because men continue to see themselves as the dominant sex.
In spite of the busy schedules of the career woman, she is expected to continue to discharge her domestic responsibilities; failure to combine both effectively resulting in avoidable misunderstanding at home.
Gender based violence continues to be a feature of many homes and even outside them. We salute those whose efforts led to the establishment of the Domestic Violence Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service. We demand that more support be extended to the unit to make it more efficient and to tackle the peculiar challenges of women.
Forced marriages leading to the truncating of education of girls continues to take place.
In the country’s flashpoints, women and their children are the most vulnerable yet they have no say in the quest for peace as they are hardly consulted when discussions are being held.
Let the authorities show concern about the peculiar state of woman and come with relevant policies that would inure to their interests. Women, we doff our hats for you on this special day!