Category: Blog

Are you a female novelist, poet or playwright? Have you attempted writing any short stories, novels, poems or plays? Do you need guidance in writing and publishing your own work? Are you a member of the Mbaasem Writers’ Club? Then Mbaasem Foundation is inviting you to join the Ghana Women Writers’ Forum for a wonderful evening of interaction.

Venue: The Pan African Writers Association (PAWA) House, Roman Ridge , Accra

Date: Thursday 23rd July 2009

Time: 5.30 pm

This interaction will be the first of a series of meetings that will be aimed towards helping established and aspiring writers to write and publish their works. The meetings will also offer women writers the opportunity to collaborate and network with each other. All interested women are cordially invited.

Contact: 024 345-1003, mbaasem33@yahoo.com

It is well known that President Obama chose to visit Ghana because of its track record in governance and democracy. Not all of us who live here are convinced that we are such a good model for governance and democracy but that is a subject for another blog.

This morning Joy FM (Ghanaian local radio station) interviewed a journalist who had been assaulted by some staff of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) as he tried to report a demolition exercise that was being carried out by the Tetteh Quarshie Interchange in Accra (Ghana’s capital). The AMA officials were destroying the shacks and tables used by street hawkers. The AMA officials did not want this journalist to report the story. According to the journalist in question (Cyrus De-Graft Johnson, a Joy FM journalist) he was physically assaulted and robbed of his belongings including his mobile phone, recorder and a wallet. A fellow journalist who tried to come to his aid was also severely beaten up. All this was done whilst armed and unarmed policemen who were there to protect the task force watched on.

I initially heard this report at about 8.3oam, by midday Joy FM reported that President Mills had ordered an immediate investigation into the assault of the journalists and had personally spoken to the journalists. The head of the AMA, Mr Vanderpuye also said he had retrieved the personal effects taken from the journalists.

Is it a coincidence that President Mills rang the two journalists on the same day that President Obama is arriving in Accra or am I merely being a skeptic when I suspect a linkage? After all it will not do for there to be media reports about assaulted journalists on the same day that the 44th President of the United States of America visits Ghana, to hold the country up as “a model of good governance and democracy” in Africa.

Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer
Fundraising & Communication

P.S: I am a member of Ghana Blogging.com and this post is my contribution for our universal blogging day

8th July, 2009.

Dear President Obama,

You are expected in our beloved country this Friday and already Obama-mania has taken over Ghana. To be fair Obama-mania is not solely because of your impending visit. Obama-mania began when you became the Democratic Party’s Presidential nominee. On that fateful day in November when you were voted into office many Ghanaians did not sleep. I was one of the unfaithful who went to bed but I instinctively woke up during the night and checked CNN to find that you were going to become the 44th President of the United States of America. I guess it is only fit that we as Ghanaians felt so involved with the American electoral process. After all, your country is the “World’s Policeman”. At least that is how it feels some of the time…

I know you are travelling with your wife, Michelle but the whole country appears to be excited about YOU and not the First Lady. Hmm, I wonder if the levels of excitement would have been the same if she was President.

You can’t imagine the fuss your impending visit has caused. Let me tell you some:

Listening to Ghana’s Joy FM yesterday, it was reported that the chiefs of the Ogua Traditional Area in the Central Region had declared that no funerals are to take place on Saturday the 11th of July. The Chiefs in their wisdom and foresight anticipate that the Obama motorcade will drive through their municipality and they want no hindrance in the President’s way. Instead the Chiefs plan to hold a durbar which Obama may view as his motorcade speeds by. I am wondering if they have not heard that Obama’s helicopter will be transporting him to Cape Coast direct from Accra. I also feel sorry for all those who have been planning funerals for months (in some cases even years) and scheduled the funeral for Saturday. In Ghana, funerals are a big deal. We definitely do not subscribe to the notion, “let the dead bury the dead”.

A new organisation called “Friends of Obama” seems to have sprung up overnight. Seriously you will be impressed with the efficiency of this organisation, no one seems to know where they sprung up from but they have erected posters, bill boards and banners all over the country welcoming you “home”. Please make sure you take time to look out of your speeding motorcade and you are sure to catch some of their handiwork. This group has easily spent several hundred thousand dollars to celebrate you. I caught the tail end of an interview with the coordinator of “Friends of Obama” and she says all the money spent on the billboards, etc was raised from friends and individuals. How I wish some of these individuals would donate some of their dollars to my organisation (The African Women’s Development Fund)

If I am to continue listing all that is being done in your name – songs have been produced, special flags featuring your face, there are even some who think that the fuel shortage is because your advance party has emptied our stock – this will become “So Long a Letter” so let me get straight to the point of this letter.

A few weeks ago an enterprising journalist visited the offices of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF). His mission? To find out what the impact of Michelle Obama’s visit to Ghana will be for women’s rights organisations. Our first reaction (a colleague and I) was amusement. What? He was expecting impact after a flying visit by the First Lady of the USA? Impact on the women’s movement in Ghana? After I had ceased to be amused I began to see the possibilities. Imagine if Michelle Obama paid a visit to AWDF? The world’s eyes would be on us. We could invite our grantees and she could dialogue with them about the work they do, more people would become aware of AWDF and our grantees…her visit needn’t be long. Even 5 minutes would suffice. But alas it is not to be.

Trust me, AWDF has tried to get on the Obama’s schedule, we have sent letters to all those that we need to contact, lobbied those we can lobby and called those we can call but so far it has been to no avail.

I haven’t given up yet which is why I am writing this open letter to you President Obama. I know that your priorities (according to the rumour mill) are seeing the Slave Castles in Cape Coast/Elmina (and I do understand why) but if you or Michelle want to make an impact to women in Africa during your visit to Ghana, please take 5 minutes to visit AWDF. This is my official invitation to you.

Yours Sincerely,

Nana Sekyiamah
Programme Officer for Fundraising & Communications

P.S: I am relying on the viral powers of the Internet to get this message across so if you know anyone who knows anyone who may have a connection to the 44th President of the USA please forward this letter.

Part of my personal reference documents are kept in the boot of my car. These references are in the form of notes and materials from the workshops that I have attended in recent times. Over the weekend whilst I was cleaning the car, I decided to go through the documents to refresh my thoughts on certain topics. It was in the process of doing this that I came across some of the notes I took during the 2nd African Feminist Forum (AFF) held in Uganda last year.

These notes were from the session “reconciling personal values and beliefs”. The essence of the session was basically to look at how personal values and beliefs influence the work of feminists fighting for equality and justice for all African Women.

A number of participants shared their experiences at this session. One person for instance mentioned an incident in which she was approached by a journalist who wanted to know if she was willing to do some research on the rights of lesbians in her country. According to this person, because of her own personal values and beliefs she quickly said no. Later upon reflecting on the issue she realized that she definitely could have handled it better.

At this session, the statistics of the millions of women who die every year in Africa from unsafe abortions was also presented. There is a huge difference between the numbers of women dying from abortions in countries where it is legal as compared to the countries where abortion is still illegal. As frightening as the statistics are and continue to be, some women are unable to be involved in what is needed to make abortion safe because of religious and moral reasons.

In his book the “Audacity of Hope” Barack Obama wrote and I quote “he believes that only a few women made a decision to terminate a pregnancy casually; that any pregnant woman felt the full force of the moral issues involved and wrestled with her conscience when making the heart wrenching decision. A ban on abortion would force women to seek unsafe abortions as they had once done in America and as they continue to do in countries that persecute abortion doctors and the women who seek their services” end of quote. This was in response to a man who approached him to say he disagreed with his views on abortion

I agree with Obama when he concludes by saying that we need to find ways of reducing the number of women having abortions.

It is extremely unfortunate for any woman to lose her life or develop a life threatening disease from an unsafe abortion. The issue on abortion has to be looked at dispassionately so as to ensure that women in the prime of their lives do not die prematurely.

I recall at the same AFF during one of the sessions I had a chat with a Sister sitting by me who thought that gay people needed counseling to reform. In her view if we continued to entertain gay people the population would decrease to a point where the human race may go into extinction. I immediately responded that I did not believe that day will ever come.

She then asked me what my own thoughts on gay rights were. I remember telling her that I believe we should learn to be tolerant of other people’s sexual preferences. She then asked me what I would do if I ever found out my child was gay. My response which still continues to be my worry is that I am afraid of how society may discriminate, label, ridicule and in some cases even abuse that child because he or she is different. I told her about the true life story of a 17 year old boy who was lynched to death by his peers because he dressed and acted like a girl. The mother of this boy never imagined that her community would be so intolerant to that extent but that is exactly what happened. I concluded by saying that it is for this reason that I want to play my role to ensure that every individual’s human rights are respected at all times.

In the words of John F Kennedy “if we cannot now end our differences at least we can help make the world safe for diversity”. Are you playing your part to make the world safe for diversity?

Gertrude Bibi Annoh-Quarshie
Finance Manager
AWDF

Joining the AWDF Slimmers Club is the second best thing that has happened to me this year (the first being a deeper understanding of the Love of God).

In early May I got a mail from a colleague Nana, inviting interested sisters to sign on and join a slimmers club. I was not too keen but curious. I did not give my commitment but found myself at the first meeting on May 18, 2009. After being introduced to the concept I decided to give it a try and here I am today barely four weeks later feeling so proud of myself.

There is so much discipline in my life. I have stopped craving especially late at night. I have full control of my sweet tongue and have not had a coke, ice cream or chocolate in about two weeks, which is quite a feat for me. I do not have to park haphazardly to get something that I am craving badly for, which means I am also saving.
The best part is I have inspired my 11 year old daughter to become disciplined about her eating habits (she has the tendency to be overweight). She has become so committed to the slimmers concept and is presently keeping a log of the type of food she eats every day. She has become so empowered and has been explaining to her friends at school why she no longer joins them for their daily routine of buying and consuming fried yam and chicken after school or why she no longer takes drinks and biscuits to schools like her twin sister. She now takes only her lunch and good old plain water. She is committed to eating enough fruits to make up for all nutrients and fighting her cravings. She has become so knowledgeable that she is saving calories for a funfair she plans to attend this weekend.

I never thought my daughter or I could work on our weight, but barely a month after signing on to the slimmers club I feel a sense of accomplishment, I feel so fulfilled and I feel hip. Thanks sisters for creating the environment for me to find that inner power that has enabled me so far to stick to the plan.

The slimmers club seeks to provide the environment for members to lose or maintain a healthy weight. Joining the slimmers club involves attending weekly meetings, where we monitor our progress towards our individual and collective objectives. The meetings also serve as a support system for members. We share our thoughts, experiences; have nagging questions answered as well as share tips on how to stay on course.

Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom
Acting Grants Manager

The issue of child labour and for that matter the exploitation of the female child especially, sometimes appeara as tall tales or gives you the bandwagon effect of shouting with the crowd “this is bad it must be stopped!”, but having a personal encounter is another ball game altogether.

Somewhere in the middle of last year I went home from work at about 6.40pm to find a girl about 8 years peddling oranges in front of the main gate to our apartment. So I asked who she was and why she was sitting there at that hour of the evening. My two ten year olds quickly retorted “Mummy she is our friend and we buy oranges from her every evening” so as courtesy would have it I asked how she was doing and went in doors. I came home a few days later and there was the same girl sitting comfortably at her usual spot with a few oranges on her tray, her eyes calling out at me for help as if to say “please do not drive me away”. Reading in between the lines the children say to me “Mummy won’t you have oranges?” “No” I said “Mummy please buy the rest of her oranges” I thought twice about it and asked them to have it and pay for it.

Later that evening, I started questioning my girls and got to know a few things about their latest fancy. I sensed that even as children they could feel the girl’s lack of love and basic desires. So at our next encounter I sat with them and started chit chatting. I offered to go and see her parents and officially ask for permission for her to come over and play at her leisure but she vehemently said NO and that she would be beaten to pulp if her mother found out she comes to play with my girls.

So I started thinking? What do you do if you come home and found a young girl with eyes crying out for love and help but very reluctant or better still restrained from getting help? How does one offer to help without being too intrusive and how does one make her good intentions known without raising people’s suspicions?

Well I have not found answers to those questions yet but it has moved me into a process of critically examining the situation of the girl child. For example I have started taking very serious note of the child labour situation in the country. I have been taking keen interest in the number of young girls selling ice water at the Nima junction in the evenings sometimes as late as 8.30pm weaving in between vehicles with some of them being as young as 7 years. One wonders when they would have time to rest and glance at their books if they are in school and if they have books at all. One wonders the diverse types of violations they have to suffer just to make ends meet. One wonders what type of policies are available to protect these girls and if the people we have queued up to vote for (sometimes for hours) even have these young girls on their web designed radar screens, screens which are often too complex for mere humans such as myself to understand.

The children of today have their childhood stolen away by a complex mirage of things. Do not think only about deprivation, even in rich homes the television for example has stolen not only the childhoods of children but the children themselves away from their families. Careers of parents have deprived children from enjoying their childhoods etc. So you see, it is a complex web of issues that needs to be thought about fast and hard.

Anyway while you are still pondering I also have some serious strategizing to do about that 8 year old girl whose eyes continue to cry out to me for help even though presently I am at my wits ends as to how to offer that support

Beatrice Boakye-Yiadom
Acting Grants Manager

This is an update to the blog I posted on women’s rights activists calling on women to go on a seven- day sex boycott (girlcott?), posted on Aril 30. I know blogger has been acting up lately and is still deciding whether or not to accept or reject comments, so I want to assume that’s the reason for the silence.

This morning it was reported that a Kenyan man is threatening to sue the G10 for ‘inciting’ his wife to deny him sex for seven days, which has caused him great distress and anguish and inability to release his tension, which led to his inability to concentrate at work etc, etc.

According to him he was accustomed to having sex with his wife three times daily. (No it is not Panadol we are talking about here). Anyway, some people think that it is the guy who should be sued for turning his wife into a sex machine, while others think he should seek medical help. A few people even thing that activists should check on the wife, he has probably given her a black eye…..

Roselynn Musa
Information & Documentation Officer

On the 25th day of November 2008, Rose Buabeng, affectionately called Auntie Rose, declared herself team leader of the “Onamdaade” fun club or should I rather say “wahala” club???????(Ref.25/11/08 blog)

Barely six months later, there has been a massive elevation from “Onamdaade” to “Owo daade”, Auntie Rose has “released” a fairly new Toyota Corolla saloon car and as it stands now is struggling to perfect her driving techniques. SSSsssshhhh rumor has it that, she is actually better than a vibrant member of the “Owodaade” club… but who am I (an “Onamdadian“) to judge?

Anyway with the sudden transition of Auntie Rose to her new status ,the enviable position of team leader of Onamdaade club has been left vacant. Now the BIG question on every ones lips is “Who becomes the next leader…” is it Mama Afi or Mohammed aka Ohufo??????

Decision date is 29th May and venue is the kitchen, delegates will be drawn from all the departments and the whole electoral process is open to all.

Esi Sackey(self appointed secretary )
Volunteer, Grants Dept.

I recently read a true story about a Woman who had just given birth and was being labelled a witch because she had given birth to an Albino. The in-laws did not want to have anything to do with this mum nor her baby because they feel they have been disgraced.

Come to think of it, every mum’s pain of pregnancy for nine months vanishes upon seeing her baby delivered and in one piece, but what will be your reaction if the baby happens to be an Albino???

“Albino” is the name originally given by Portuguese explorers to “white Negroes” they saw in West Africa. Since then it also has come to mean an individual, of any species of living thing, which lacks the pigments that other members of its race normally have. Albinos occur among all races of men, almost all species of domestic animals, and a wide variety of wild species. We also see, sometimes, the opposite: an intense pigmentation called “melanism”.

Enough of the History, how many times have we as individuals turned and given a second look to an Albino we see? Its even speculated that Albinos don’t die and vanish into thin air, they have magical powers and a lot more.

Discrimination against Albinos is a serious problem throughout sub-Saharan Africa, but recently in Tanzania it has taken a wicked twist: at least 19 albinos, including children, have been killed and mutilated in the past year, victims of what Tanzanian officials say is a growing criminal trade in Albino body parts. Many people in Tanzania — and across Africa, for that matter — believe Albinos have magical powers. The young are often the targets. In early May, Vumilia Makoye, 17, was eating dinner with her family in their hut in western Tanzania when two men showed up with long knives. She was killed (Credit: New York Times-June 08)

I believe, Albinos don’t choose their pigment and they depict God’s uniqueness in creation and therefore deserve our acceptance of them as such.

The next time you see an Albino, remember, they are also human and must be treated as such.

Mavis Gardiner
Finance Assistant