Cape Coast, 8thMarch, 2021, The Coordinator for Outreach and Advocacy of the Centre for Gender Research, Advocacy and Documentation, Dr. Theresah Addai-Mununkum has emphatically posited that “Women don’t seek to compete with men but rather, we seek partnership with men to help develop our communities”.
According to her, to compete with men would carry negative connotations where most men would be antagonistic towards women’s empowerment.
“This wouldn’t augur well for us. We are not competing with any man but rather working hand in hand with them to build our societies”.
She further explained that women are not seeking equality but are seeking equity because in every sphere of life no two persons are the same. “We all have different backgrounds and environments in which we were born and have different abilities”.
She added, women need the support and empowerment necessary to enable them achieve their potentials. “They cannot all have the same needs and wants so we need to look at them separately and give them what they need to help them grow”.
She together with Madam Comfort Garbarh, former Assemblywoman of Yamuransa and Madam Cecilia Aggrey, President of the Abura Market Women Association of Cape Coast formed the panel looking at the theme “Women in Leadership: Achieving an Equal Future in a Covid-19 World”.
They spoke to D.C. Kwame Kwakye on GBC Radio Central’s Morning Show today Monday, 8th March, 2021 as part of the International Women’s Day activities being organised by CEGRAD.
Reacting to a message sent by a text to the show seeking clarity as to whether women were their own enemies or not, Madam Cecilia Aggrey answered in the affirmative and revealed that sometimes women are their enemies.
“When you are going up, some women would try and pull you down and when you’re at the base and you want to rise too, some women would prevent you from moving up”.
According to her, recently a comment she heard another woman make against another woman who was seeking for a leadership position was surprising to her.
The former Assemblywoman of Yamuransa, Madam Comfort Garbarh who also added her voice said, sometimes these happen to women from their own kind and she thinks it a societal problem.
She added that being a woman and seeking for leadership position was a herculean task for her because “Combining your leadership roles with that of being a wife, and being a mother, a family member and community member wasn’t easy for me when I was voted for the position as an Assembly woman”.
Dr. Theresah Addai-Mununkum, however reacting to the cliche that women are their own enemies remarked that, “It is not women who are their own enemies but humans are their own enemies. Some men also treat their colleagues in the same way”. She rather, called on women to be supportive of their fellow women who seek leadership positions and also to encourage others who have the desire to lead.
In sum, Madam Cecelia Aggrey and Comfort Garbrah thanked GBC Radio Central for the opportunity given and beseeched CEGRAD for more of such collaborations and opportunities for healthy conversations on issues concerning women.
CEGRAD Coordinator for Outreach and Advocacy ended by thanking GBC Radio Central for the collaboration and wished for more of such working relationship which would be able to bring women’s issues to the front burner.
International Women’s Day (IWD) is a global day celebrating the cultural, social, economic, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.
Significant activity is witnessed worldwide as groups come together to celebrate women’s achievements or rally for women’s equality and equity.
The day is marked annually on March 8th, and is one of the most important days of the year that seeks to celebrate women’s achievements, raise awareness about women’s equality, lobby for accelerated gender parity and fundraise for female-focused charities.
