A former Ghanaian Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, Esther Dzifa Ofori has advocated for a bigger role for women in Ghana that currently obtains, as affirmative action and better access to education builds their capacity and whittles away the huge obstacles they have faced in the past.
Delivering the keynote address at the recently held Female Pillars of Modern Ghana Conference & Awards in Accra, Esther Ofori made a strong and convincing case for further affirmative action on behalf of women and the removal of long-standing socio-economic and cultural obstacles placed in their way, so as to enable them make more invaluable contributions to Ghana’s socio-economic growth and development.
Asserted Esther Ofori in her keynote address: “Women over and across time have proven themselves to be the dynamic driving force behind all human activity and I dare say ‘from the cradle to the grave.’ Despite the socio-cultural diversities and limitations, women have demonstrated resilience, dedication, devotion and the core underlying call to their multi-faceted and hydra-headed roles as nurturers of mankind”.
In stressing the sheer importance of women in society she pointed out that Ghana’s female population is larger than its male populace, with females accounting for 50.7% of the populace against males 49.3%, this translating to a ratio of 97 males to every 100 females.
Despite this though, she pointed out that males are more represented in both the executive and legislative arms of government than females, although noting that “when it comes to effectiveness, womens voices count a lot.”
The former Ambassador then listed some of the gender-specific obstacles women face in private sector business. For instance, “in general businesswomen are disadvantaged when they apply for business loans. Quite often the banks or lending institutions stipulate conditions which may not be favourable to women. These include demand for collateral security, such as fixed property, which may be in the husband’s name, thus compromising the independence of women.”
She also lists cultural prejudices against the girl child that militate against their education and human development; and lack of access to land in some societies because women are prevented from owning landed properties thus disallowing women from engaging in projects or activities that require land such as agriculture.
However, she notes that through advocacy campaigns and forward-looking social interventions in the educational sector, Ghana has chalked up significant successes towards achieving gender parity in the education of the girl child. She provides statistics that show that in both 2022 and 2023 more girls than boys participated in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) and the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). She also notes that “the introduction of the free SHS/Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) despite its challenges has helped to remove the cost barrier which hitherto led some parents to prioritize boys’ education over that of girls.”
She also points to the successes of affirmative action by the state noting that “Through affirmative action activities women have asserted their right to property ownership. They now own landed properties, although in some traditional society’s women are still forbidden to own land, for example, and are limited in what they are capable of achieving.”
Esther Ofori, in order to motivate women to aspire to greater heights in her keynote address went on to list an array of women whose footprints have become indelible in Ghana’s history because of their respective exemplary feats and accomplishments. Her list ranges from figures in Ghana’s political history such as the legendary Ashanti Quen, Yaa Asantewaa and Honourable Susan Alhasan, a legislator in Ghana’s First Republic, to trail blazers in the evolution of the country’s economy such as Mrs Esther Ocloo, the founder of the renown Nkulenu Industries, Aunty Dede Ashikinshm, Madam Yaa Buom and Madam Akosua Dei. She also made examples of more recent business icons such as Mrs Elizabeth Villars, founder and Chairperson of the Ghana Stock Exchange listed Camelot Ghana who is also a past President of both the Association of Ghana Industries and the Governing Council of the Private Enterprises Federation. as well as Mrs Kate Quartey-Papafio, founder and CEO of the industry leading Reroy Electrical Cables.
She also pointed to professionals in public service, particularly in the judiciary where she recognized legal luminaries such as Justice Bamford-Addo, the first woman to be appointed to Ghana’s Supreme Court and also the first woman to be elected Speaker of Parliament under the Fourth Republic; as well as Justice Georgina Woode, and Justice Sophia Akufo, past Chief Justices and Justice Gertrude Araba Torkenoo, the incumbent. Add to these, Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Gloria Akuffo and Marietta Oppong Brew, all form Attorney Generals and Ministers for Justice.
She also recognized several women in the security services such as Edjeani-Afenu, the first woman commanding officer of a unit in the Ghana Armed Forces, and first female Brigadier General; and Bragadier Felicia Twum-Barima, the second women to rise to that level. Other women mentioned by Esther Ofori for their accomplishments ih the security services included Squadron Leader Millicent Danquah, the first female military pilot in all of sub-Saharan Africa, Elizabeth Mills-Robertson, the first (acting) Inspector General of Police and Elizabeth Adjei, the first female Director General of the Ghana Immigration Service.
Concluding her keynote address Esther Ofori asserted that “I am of the firm conviction that the Ghanaian woman is resilient and hardworking. It is my hope that the younger generation of women will brace up for the future with determination and focus on becoming a better version of the older generation of woman. But as a group we must hold each other’s hand and push together to reach the top.”
