Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo
The First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has stated that gender inequality is a clear and present danger to the development of humanity.
Addressing participating First Ladies and guests at the Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) high-level event on Wednesday, September 20, 2023, on the sidelines of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York,
Mrs. Akufo-Addo expressed her commitment to the elimination of gender inequalities on the African continent.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo begun her statement by telling the captivating inequality story of Asana. Asana, according to the First Lady, was “born into a poor family. Her parents managed to send her twin brother to school. At thirteen years, Asana is married off to an older man and has a child at age 14. She was required to have her husband with her on her hospital visitations. Her voice is silenced. She has no income, no education and no freedom to take decisions about her health. At age 25 she had six children and looked 40. As strange as this is in our 21st century, this is a picture we can all identify with. That is why this meeting is so important,” Mrs. Akufo-Addo said.
In her report on Ghana’s launch of the “We are equal campaign” by OAFLAD, the First Lady said the attendance by the Minister of Education, the Gender Minister, Deputy Minister for Health, and other high-level stakeholders, including the Director-General of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation, shows government’s commitment to gender equality.
The meeting, she disclosed, discussed what was being done to close gender gaps in the areas of education and health, including the establishment of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) schools for girls and plans for girls to undertake courses in engineering without necessarily studying science in school.
She also disclosed the commitment of the Director-General of Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to broadcast the campaign key messages in 27 local languages to ensure wide coverage in languages that people understand.
Additionally, the campaign will work with government officials, traditional leaders, media personnel, and influencers to disseminate campaign messages.
Other First Ladies and stakeholders also made very insightful contributions to the discussions.
In 2002, First Ladies of Africa came together to form the Organisation of African First Ladies against HIV/AIDS (OAFLA), with the objective to be a united voice for Africa’s most susceptible citizens; women and children living with and affected by HIV and AIDS.