Tag: GHANA
Grantee Highlight: Sixty-Nine Women Graduate from NEWIG’s Youth-in-Entrepreneurship Initiative
Grantee Highlight: Sixty-Nine Women Graduate from NEWIG’s Youth-in-Entrepreneurship Initiative
This story was originally posted on Graphic Online (Ghana)
Sixty-nine young women have graduated from a three-month intensive training in vocational skills under the Youth-in-Entrepreneurship initiative.
The initiative, which forms part of the Network of Women in Growth-Ghana’s (NEWIG) project, seeks to empower young women to be gainfully employed to make them self-reliant.
They were trained in bead making, basic catering, soap making, batik, tie-dye, floral arrangement, textile designing and basic financial management.
At an event held at Tefle in the Volta Region on October 2, 2015 on the theme, “Promoting sustainable economic development through skills training for women”, the young ladies were presented with tools that would help them set up their own businesses.
The Executive Director of NEWIG, Mrs Mawusi Nudekor Awity, announced that approximately $21,000 was used in the training programme.
“Things haven’t been easy. But we believe in squeezing water out of stones to empower these young ladies. Of course, we received support from Empower, British High Commission, Crossroads International, and African Women’s Development Fund,” she said.
Mrs Awity said the NEWIG initiative used local raw materials such as coconut, cocoa pods, shea butter, paper, empty sachet water packets to create products.
According to her, there is the need to encourage the setting up of cottage industries in parts of the country, to propagate the idea of domestication through patronage of local produce.
A Senior Field Officer of NEWIG, Ms Naomi Biney, said NEWIG had a monitoring mechanism to help the graduates grow their businesses.
For his part, the Head of Rural Enterprise Programmes at Sogakope, Mr Eric Batse, said: “Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs) account for 90 per cent of the total operations in the industrial sector and offer 58 per cent of employment in the country.”
He said encouraging the growth of SMEs was a viable means of tackling the growing unemployment problem in the country.
Meanwhile, the District Coordinating Director for South Tongu, Mrs Jemima Apedo, has underscored the need for attitudinal change on the part of some Ghanaians who have insatiable taste for foreign produce, which she described as a bane of local economic growth.
Op-Ed : Ghana’s frustrated youth are vulnerable to the radical call of ISIS
Op-Ed : Ghana’s frustrated youth are vulnerable to the radical call of ISIS
Students at University of Ghana (AP Photo/Gabriela Barnuevo)
Read published article here: on Qz.com
BY Amba Mpoke-Bigg
Over the past couple of decades Ghana has won a hardearned reputation as a stable and settled democracy.
Yet, as news broke last week that a young university graduate from Ghana had left home to join Islamic State of Iraq (ISIS), it was hard not to dread the prospect of a mass exodus, or worse, deadly jihadist violence on our shores.
Those concerns were heightened when an investigative report by popular local radio station Starr FM reported that ISIS agents in Ghana are enticing unemployed youths with promises of cash and a gateway to heaven.
“They are promised initial spending fee and luxurious life before they travel to Syria and Iraq. Again their immediate families are assured quality life after they have left, so many of the young guys are considering it, especially in the Zongos (a slang term for neighborhoods populated by majority northern Ghanaian Muslims),” it quoted an interviewee as saying.
Twenty-five year old Nazir Alema Nortey, a graduate of one of Ghana’s leading universities sent a WhatsApp message to his family telling them he left the country earlier this month to join the Islamic extremist group, leaving behind a devastated family. The University Of Science and Technology graduate, is described by his father as a gentle, well-mannered man. Nortey was an active student on campus and showed no signs of being radicalized. He had a girlfriend. He was an ordinary man. Sketchy details of a second recruit, identified only as Rafiq also emerged this week at an official media briefing but there are already unconfirmed reports of a third—a young woman whose name has been given as Shakira Mohammed.
“Anyone is a potential recruit,” National Security Co-ordinator, Mr Yaw Donkor, told reporters at the briefing.
Donkor said would-be members were being headhunted from mainly tertiary institutions in Ghana where students were drafted into WhatsApp and Facebook social media forums in which radical discourse and indoctrination took place.
Among the many questions a shocked nation is asking itself is what might happen if radicalized youth return home. A look at what’s happening across Africa and around the world shows a sharp rise in the number of youth joining ISIS.
Ghana prides itself on its stable democracy and social harmony, but it was surely only a matter of time before the specter of Islamist militancy touched our shores given how close we are to troubled regional neighbours like Nigeria to the east, Mali to the northwest and Niger and Chad to the northeast. These are all now hotspots for militant Islam and terrorist activity.
Boko Haram, which has launched massive attacks in Nigeria since 2009, is the most troubling. The group which initially had links to al-Qaeda, pledged allegiance to ISIS in March. With little in place in terms of anti-terrorism measures in Ghana, what is there to stop us following the lead of our volatile neighbours?
Back in June there were angry demonstrations in Accra when city authorities ordered security forces to raze part of one of the largest slums, largely inhabited by Muslims, leaving thousands homeless.
One placard brought home the frustration: “Before 2016 , you will see Boko Haram in Ghana,” the sign read.
While some are blaming the internet and the accessibility of radical social media sites, there is an increasing possibility Islamic disaffection with Christian fundamentalism might be on the rise.
Christians make up 70% of the population of Ghana and Muslims 18%, according to official census figures from 2000. This has been disputed by Ghanaian Muslim leaders and other official sources who set the number at between 18% to 30%. Relations between the two religions have been peaceful in Ghana. But it’s often noted development and education have spread much faster in the predominantly Christian south than in the mainly Muslim north.
Ghana’s main political parties are not organised primarily on religious or ethnic lines, as happens elsewhere on the continent, and the country has had several Muslim vice presidents. Yet in the wake of these revelations the potential for Islamophobia against its Muslim minority is real.
We need to ask ourselves what the attraction is for an ordinary, middle-class Ghanaian young man, or woman, in joining the most dangerous jihadist group in the world. Words like radicalization seem almost incongruous with moderate Muslim youth. Yet it is true that education and liberalism aren’t foolproof armour against radicalization.
Neither can the economic factor be overlooked, given that Ghana, once Africa’s star economy, has turned to the International Monetary Fund to help it resolve its financial crisis.
President John Mahama says growth needs to be at least 8% to provide jobs for its young people, but growth has shrivelled in the past two years and it is expected to stand at 3.9% in 2015—below average for subSaharan Africa.
Unemployment data in Ghana is not collected, but Desmond Biney, director of the Unemployed Graduates Association Of Ghana sets the figure for unemployed graduates over the last five years at around 287,000. Current membership of the group which was set up as an advisory and placement service has doubled in the last two years.
And in further evidence of the impact of current economic conditions, Ghanaians have joined the hundreds of thousands of migrants risking their lives on the Mediterranean to seek work in Europe.
It is important not to overstate the problem. So far this is a tiny handful of people in a nation of 26 million. But for the majority of Ghanaians their decision to join ISIS should set alarm bells ringing. The question that needs answering is: how far will they go?
AWDF’s 4th CEO FORUM IN TWEETS AND PICTURES
AWDF’s 4th CEO FORUM IN TWEETS AND PICTURES
An Address by Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection at AWDF’s candlelight vigil on the 1st anniversary of Chibok Girls’ Abduction
An Address by Ghana’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection at AWDF’s candlelight vigil on the 1st anniversary of Chibok Girls’ Abduction
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]Tuesday, April 14th 2015 marked the first anniversary of the abduction of the over 200 girls from Chibok in Northern Nigeria. To commemorate the occasion, AWDF, in conjunction with the University of Ghana’s Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA), organised a peaceful candlelight vigil where Ghana’s Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, the Honourable Nana Oye Lithur, delivered a powerful and moving address, affirming Ghana’s solidarity with the Nigerian people and called for the safe return of the girls:
Members of the Diplomatic Community
Chief Executive Officer, the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF), Theo Sowa
Representatives from AWDF and CEGENSA
Students
Ladies and Gentlemen
I thank you for inviting me to this solemn ceremony. Exactly a year ago, more than 230 girls, with hope for a better future were in school at Chibok in Northern Nigeria. They knew that they would finish secondary school and continue to pursue their dreams of an accomplished educated life that they could pass on to their children’s children. They knew that education was the sure way to working in any of their country’s corporate institutions or creating their own businesses to improve the economic conditions of their families. They had parents who were regularly expectant of the results from their investment in their children’s education.
But then all these dreams came to an abrupt end. The world woke up to the rude shock of the abduction of these girls by militant group Boko Haram. The shock of this marauding swoop by Boko Haram resulted in demonstrations and calls from peoples of all walks of life worldwide for the return of the girls. Nigerian campaigners used social media, particularly Twitter, to raise awareness about the kidnapping. The #bringbackourgirls online campaign caught on well with notable personalities like First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama and Democratic Presidential nominee hopeful Hillary Clinton as well as a number of prominent celebrities, joining it.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this heinous crime attracted the attention of many countries, which offered their assistance to Nigeria for the girls’ return or rescue:
- The United Kingdom agreed to send experts to Nigeria to assist in the search for the students.
- The United States also agreed to send experts to Nigeria to assist in the search for the students.
- France offered a specialist team.
- China announced its intention to make available any useful information acquired by its satellites and intelligence services.
- Canada joined the international effort to free the schoolgirls.
- Iran offered to help Nigeria resolve the issue of the abduction of the female students.
- Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, offered assistance to the Nigerian President in locating the missing pupils.
ECOWAS member countries have stood up to the fight for the return of these girls. On the 17th of January this year, I chaired an ECOWAS meeting of Gender Ministries West Africa. After the meeting, we issued a Declaration that described as “unacceptable and intolerable, the act of lawlessness and impunity demonstrated through the abduction of the Chibok girls…” We noted the “direct and indirect consequences of insurgency ” and reaffirmed “our strong support to the government and people of Nigeria.”
I made a similar call at the 59th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. I asked for the “immediate and unconditional release of the more than 200 Chibok girls and other abducted persons in Northern Nigeria.”
The Chairman of ECOWAS, President John Mahama, speaking to West African representatives in Germany recently noted that “no country can say that the Boko Haram threat is too far away to be affected” and that “the whole continent is under threat.” President Mahama, as Chairman of ECOWAS, has led the call for the creation of a multinational force to deal with Boko Haram. Currently, Nigeria, Cameroun, Chad and Benin have contributed troops to fight Boko Haram.
Indeed, the hearts of many were gladdened recently, when it was reported that the headquarters of Boko Haram had been retaken.
Each of the last 365 days has passed with parents of our daughters going to bed, wondering what could be happening to their [children]. I am glad that the concern for the return of these girls has not waned.
The Chibok girls have still not been returned. We need to sustain the campaign; and that is why I commend the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) for putting this programme together. This public show of support for the families and parents of the missing girls is indeed timely
Ghana as a country shares the pain of the parents of the girls. We as a People and Government commit to do all in our power to help find the girls.
Our President who is ECOWAS Chairman is leading this crusade for the return of the girls and we know they shall be found.
May God bless us all and help #bringbackourgirls![/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Mardi 14 Avril 2015 a marqué le premier anniversaire de l’enlèvement de plus de 200 jeunes filles à Chibok dans le nord du Nigeria. Pour commémorer l’occasion, AWDF, en collaboration avec le Centre de l’Université du Ghana pour les études du genre et de plaidoyer (CEGENSA), a organisé une veillée aux chandelles pacifique où le ministre ghanéen pour le genre, l’enfance et la protection sociale, l’honorable Nana Oye Lithur, a livré un puissant et émouvant discours, affirmant la solidarité du Ghana avec le peuple nigérian et a appelé à un retour sûr des filles:
Les membres de la communauté diplomatique
La Chef de la direction, Fonds Africain de développement de la femme (AWDF), Theo Sowa
Des représentants d’AWDF et CEGENSA
Étudiants
Mesdames et Messieurs
Je vous remercie de votre invitation à cette cérémonie solennelle. Il y a exactement un an, plus de 230 filles, avec l’espoir d’un avenir meilleur étaient à l’école de Chibok au nord du Nigeria. Elles savaient qu’elles allaient terminer l’école secondaire et continuer à poursuivre leurs rêves, une vie instruite et accomplie qu’elles pourraient transmettre aux enfants de leurs enfants. Elles savaient que l’éducation était le moyen sûr de travailler dans l’une des institutions de leur pays ou de créer leurs propres entreprises pour améliorer les conditions économiques de leurs familles. Elles avaient des parents qui étaient régulièrement dans l’attente des résultats de leur investissement dans l’éducation de leurs enfants.
Mais tous ces rêves ont connu une fin abrupte. Le monde se réveilla rudement du choc de l’enlèvement de ces jeunes filles par le groupe militant Boko Haram. Le choc de cette attaque surprise par Boko Haram a abouti à des manifestations et appels de personnes, de toute origine et dans le monde entier, pour le retour des filles. Les militants nigérians ont utilisé les médias sociaux, notamment Twitter, pour sensibiliser à l’enlèvement. Le #bringbackourgirls, campagne en ligne a attiré des personnalités notables comme la Première Dame des Etats-Unis Michelle Obama et la candidate démocrate Hillary Clinton ainsi qu’un certain nombre de célébrités de premier plan.
Mesdames et Messieurs, ce crime odieux a attiré l’attention de nombreux pays, qui ont offert leur aide au Nigeria pour le retour ou le sauvetage des filles:
- Le Royaume-Uni a décidé d’envoyer des experts au Nigeria pour aider à rechercher les étudiantes.
- Les États-Unis ont également convenu d’envoyer des experts au Nigeria pour aider à la recherche des adolescentes.
- La France a proposé une équipe de spécialistes.
- La Chine a annoncé son intention de mettre à disposition toutes les informations utiles acquises par ses satellites et services de renseignement.
- Le Canada se joint à l’effort international pour libérer les écolières.
- L’Iran a offert d’aider le Nigeria à résoudre le problème de l’enlèvement des étudiantes.
- Le Premier ministre israélien, Benjamin Netanyahu, a offert son aide au président nigérian afin de localiser les élèves manquantes.
Les pays membres de la CEDEAO se sont levés dans la lutte pour le retour de ces jeunes filles. Le 17 Janvier de cette année, je présidais une réunion de la CEDEAO sur l’égalité des ministères en Afrique de l’Ouest. Après la réunion, nous avons émis une déclaration qui décrit comme “inacceptable et intolérable, l’acte d’anarchie et d’impunité démontré par l’enlèvement des filles de Chibok …” Nous avons noté les “conséquences directes et indirectes de l’insurrection” et avons réaffirmé “notre solide soutien au gouvernement et au peuple du Nigeria. “
Je fis un appel similaire à la 59e session de la Commission des Nations Unies sur la condition de la femme. Je demandai à la “libération immédiate et inconditionnelle des plus de 200 filles de Chibok et d’autres personnes enlevées dans le nord du Nigeria.”
Le Président de la CEDEAO, le Président John Mahama, parlant aux représentants d’Afrique de l’Ouest en Allemagne a récemment noté qu’ «aucun pays ne peut dire que la menace Boko Haram est trop loin pour être affecté» et que «l’ensemble du continent est menacé.” Le président Mahama , en tant que président de la CEDEAO, a conduit l’appel à la création d’une force multinationale pour faire face à Boko Haram. Actuellement, le Nigeria, le Cameroun, le Tchad et le Bénin ont fourni des troupes pour combattre Boko Haram.
En effet, le cœur de beaucoup s’est réjoui récemment, quand il a été signalé que le siège de Boko Haram avait été repris.
Au cours de chacun des 365 derniers jours les parents de nos filles allaient se coucher en se demandant ce qui pouvait arriver à leurs [enfants]. Je suis heureuse que la préoccupation pour le retour de ces filles n’ait pas diminué.
Les filles de Chibok n’ont toujours pas été retrouvées. Nous devons soutenir la campagne; et voilà pourquoi je félicite le Fonds Africain de développement de la femme (AWDF) et le Centre pour les études du genre et de plaidoyer (CEGENSA) de développer ce programme ensemble. Cette manifestation publique de soutien aux familles et aux parents des jeunes filles disparues se fait en effet en temps opportun
Le Ghana comme pays partage la douleur des parents des jeunes filles. Nous, en tant que peuple et au Gouvernement, engageons à faire tout ce qui est en notre pouvoir pour aider à trouver les filles.
Notre président, qui est le président de la CEDEAO, est à la tête de cette croisade pour le retour des filles et nous savons qu’elles doivent être trouvées.
Que Dieu nous bénisse tous et nous aide #bringbackourgirls![/tp]
‘Bring Back Our Girls’ Candlelight Vigil In Commemoration Of The Chibok Abductions, April 14, 2015
‘Bring Back Our Girls’ Candlelight Vigil In Commemoration Of The Chibok Abductions, April 14, 2015
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) and the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) Legon respectfully invite sympathizers to a peaceful Candlelight Vigil on 14th April, 2015, at the University of Ghana Legon.
It will be a time of reflection, prayers, readings, a roll call of the abducted girls and a public show of support for the families and parents of the missing girls.
AWDF and CEGENSA stand in solidarity with the families of the missing girls and call on the Nigerian and West African governments to leave no stone unturned until the girls are returned to their families or accounted for.
Please join us on this earnest occasion. Although some candles will be provided, you are welcome to bring your own. Dresscode is red.
Click here for more details on the event
Both AWDF and CEGENSA strive to promote women’s human rights and gender equality to create a better world for all.[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Fonds africain de développement de la femme (AWDF) et le Centre pour les études sur le genre et le plaidoyer (CEGENSA) de Legon invitent respectueusement leurs sympathisants à une veillée aux chandelles pacifique le 14 Avril 2015 à l’Université du Ghana à Legon.
Ce sera un temps de réflexion, de prière, de lectures et un appel nominal des filles enlevées ainsi qu’un spectacle de soutien public aux familles et parents des jeunes filles disparues.
AWDF et CEGENSA se tiennent solidaires des familles des jeunes filles disparues et appellent les gouvernements du Nigeria et de l’Afrique occidentale à ne laisser aucune pierre non retournée jusqu’à ce que ces filles soient retournées à leurs familles ou comptabilisées.
Veuillez vous joindre à nous en cette importante occasion. Bien que des bougies seront fournies, vous êtes libres d’apporter les vôtres. Le dresscode est rouge.
Cliquez ici pour plus de détails sur l’événement
AWDF et CEGENSA visent à promouvoir les droits humains des femmes et l’égalité des sexes pour créer un monde meilleur pour tous.[/tp]
Strengthening Communities’ Knowledge and Action towards Preventing Violence against Women
Strengthening Communities’ Knowledge and Action towards Preventing Violence against Women
The Aowin District is a newly created jurisdiction in the Western region of Ghana with a population of approximately 30,000 residents. The district has a large migrant farmer community as it falls in the High Forest Zone. Many of the migrant community members come to the district capital of Enchi from the neighbouring country of Togo.
Although the district exhibits a wide diversity of culture and a rapidly expanding population, the community has a high incidence of violence against women, including physical and verbal assaults. Marital disputes amongst migrant farmers, who live on their farms for most of the year, are also quite common. Most incidents result from differing perceptions about how home and business activities should be conducted. For example, disputes can develop over how profits are divided from produce sales, the lack of profit made from produce sales, the best handling procedures for meat and other produce or how maintenance practices are conducted in the home. Conflicts also can erupt if a wife refuses to yield to the sexual demands of her husband.
During the period of May to September 2014, hundreds of cases of violence against women were reported to the District Ghana Police Service and the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) at Enchi.
Some of these reports include the following assaults:
- A husband hit the back of his wife’s head with a masher (locally called tapoli) resulting in her death
- A baby was left outside for a pig to feed on while a husband and wife were fighting
- A woman was drowned to death in a barrel of water as a result of being suspected of cheating on the husband
- A husband cut his wife’s fingers because food was not ready at the time he desired it
- A wife was assaulted because she refused to have sex with her husband because they already had many children and she was forbidden from using birth control measures.
- A man shot his wife as a result of suspected cheating
- A man hit his wife in the head resulting in her death because the wife complained of a lack of maintenance in the home
- A husband kills his wife and baby because she left pork meat unrefrigerated and it became rotten.
This stark reality forms the background for a new project by AWDF grantee partner, the Women Youth Forum for Sustainable Development (WYFSD), to share critical information about gender based violence with migrant farmer communities. WYFSD is implementing an initiative to provide inhabitants, particularly migrant farmers and traditional leaders, in the communities of Asuoklo, Angunzu, Kankaboin, Jensue, Anvohkro and Tanokro with knowledge on the effects of violence against women. Together, the six (6) communities can evolve potentially effective systems to better address gender based violence. As a part of this project, WYFSD has also established anti-gender based violence committees to exchange lessons and strategies in the selected communities.
Lessons learnt
Unfortunately, the communities are situated far away from police stations and many men take advantage of this fact. A number of the women subjected to domestic violence are reluctant to report because of fear of provoking a confrontation or ending their marriages.
The most surprising revelation learnt during the implementation of this project was that a majority of domestic conflicts begin with a disagreement over the proper maintenance of the home. A high level of poverty and the lack of alternative sources of income are also key indicators in addressing the issue of violence against women in the Aowin District.
A lack of balanced and healthy communication among couples is also a major issue. Many women are pushed to the physical brink every day, labouring on farms, caring for families and households all while not receiving any independent income for their efforts.
Short Term Outcomes
The formation of anti-violence committees has improved the security of women by monitoring incidences and supporting the linkage to appropriate law enforcement agencies. Authorities such as the police, assembly officers, chiefs and queen mothers, have been sensitised and are supporting the process.
The project was also able to fully sensitise 1,000 men and women on the harmful socio-economic impacts of violence against women for perpetrators, including the possibility of being arrested, imprisoned or even assaulted.
Through this project, male participants also learn how women are capable partners in life, work and community development. Men and women participants are taught how to practically avoid violence, disagreements and intimidation in the home. In fact, the chief of Tanokro, one of the project communities, was so supportive of eradicating gender based violence, he immediately joined the project implementation team.
Multiple area church leaders have also agreed to integrate messages about gender based violence within religious and evangelical activities. Several local FM stations have decided to share information on the elimination of gender based violence with their listeners. With the support of AWDF, the anti-violence committees will continue to meet with chiefs, elders, queen mothers, assembly officers and community members to discuss and enact mobilisation methods to effectively prevent gender based violence.
Article by: Rose Buabeng, AWDF Programme Officer for Anglophone Africa
A Conversation with Dr. Yaba Blay: Saturday 30th August
A Conversation with Dr. Yaba Blay: Saturday 30th August
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]You’re invited to a conversation with Dr Yaba Blay on Saturday 30th August from 5pm-7pm at the AWDF resource centre in East Legon, Accra.
Dr Blay is a professor, producer, and publisher.As a researcher and ethnographer, she uses personal and social narratives to disrupt fundamental assumptions about cultures and identities. As a cultural worker and producer, she uses images to inform consciousness, incite dialogue, and inspire others into action and transformation.
This conversation with Dr Blay will focus on her work including a discussion on 1)ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race which explores potential disadvantages related with having light skin, particularly among people of African descent – racial ambiguity and contested racial authenticity. As well as a focus on ‘Pretty.Period’, a transmedia project created as a visual missive in reaction to the oh-so-popular, yet oh-so-offensive “compliment” – “You’re pretty for a dark-skinned girl.” A few copies of )ne Drop: Shifting the Lens on Race will be available for sale.
For directions to AWDF house please click here[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Vous êtes invité à une conversation avec le Dr Yaba Blay le samedi 30 Août à partir de 17 heures à 19 heures au centre de ressources AWDF à East Legon, Accra.
Dr Blay est professeur, producteur et éditeur. En tant que chercheur et ethnographe, elle utilise des récits personnels et sociaux afin de perturber les hypothèses fondamentales sur les cultures et les identités. En tant que travailleur culturel et producteur, elle utilise des images dans le but d’informer la conscience, susciter le dialogue, et inspirer les autres à l’action et à la transformation.
Cette conversation avec le Dr Blay se concentrer sur son travail, y compris une discussion sur 1) ne Goutte: Décalage de l’objectif sur la race qui explore les inconvénients potentiels liés à avoir la peau de la lumière, en particulier chez les personnes d’ascendance africaine – l’ambiguïté raciale et l’authenticité raciale contestée. Ainsi que l’accent sur ‘Pretty.Period‘, un projet transmédia créé comme une missive visuelle en réaction au”compliment” oh-so-populaires, pourtant oh-so-désobligeant- “Vous êtes assez jolie pour une fille à peau foncée”A quelques copies de) ne Goutte:. Décalage de l’objectif sur la race sera disponible à la vente.
Pour les directions à la maison AWDF s’il vous plaît cliquez ici[/tp]
AWDF has premises available to rent
AWDF has premises available to rent
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]AWDF as part of its investment into its long term sustainability is pleased to announces the availability of premises to rent. Details are as follows:
A five bedroom house located at Plot no. 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra, Ghana (near Galaxy international school), It has a swimming pool and a standby generator.
Rent is negotiable.
All interested persons should contact Grace Amenyogbeli, Human Resource Manager, via telephone +233-302-521257; or via e-mail: grace@africlub.net/awdf[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]AWDF dans le cadre de son investissement dans sa viabilité à long terme est heureuse d’annonce la disponibilité de locaux à louer. Les détails sont comme suit:
Une maison de cinq chambres situé au Plot no. 78, Ambassadorial Enclave, East Legon, Accra, Ghana (près de Galaxy international school), il a une piscine et un générateur de secours.
Le loyer est négociable.
Toutes les personnes intéressées doivent communiquer avec Grace Amenyogbeli, directeur des ressources humaines, par téléphone +233-302-521257; ou par e-mail: grace@africlub.net/awdf [/tp]
Yari Yari Ntoaso: Continuing the Dialogue – An International Conference on Literature by Women of African Ancestry
Yari Yari Ntoaso: Continuing the Dialogue – An International Conference on Literature by Women of African Ancestry
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]I am excited that Yari Yari Ntoaso, an international conference focusing on African women writers is coming to Ghana from the 16th-19th May. Our very own Ama Ata Aidoo is one of the founding members of this initiative and the conference will bring together numerous inspirational women writers of African descent. Women like Angela Davis and Carole Boyce Davis who helped shape my thinking around the intersection of race and gender. Nnedi Okorafor, whose book is currently in the pile of ‘books to read’ on my bedside table. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf who started the Cassava Republic Press, and who I had the privilege of interviewing for ‘Women Leading Africa‘.
I am honoured that I have been invited to speak on a panel about ‘Writing Sexuality’. The entire Yari Yari programme is FREE and the general public are invited to attend, participate and learn from all the resource people who will be there.
Click links below for the full programme and press release
YYN DRAFT Schedule YYN GHANAPress Release[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Je suis heureuse que Yari Yari Ntoaso, une conférence internationale axée sur les femmes écrivains africaines se tienne au Ghana du 16 au 19 mai. Notre chère Ama Ata Aidoo est l’un des membres fondateurs de cette initiative et la conférence rassemblera de nombreuses femmes écrivains inspirantes d’origine africaine. Des femmes comme Angela Davis et Carole Boyce Davis, qui ont contribué à façonner ma pensée autour de l’intersection de la race et du sexe. Nnedi Okorafor, dont le livre est actuellement dans la pile des «livres à lire» sur ma table de chevet. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, qui a commencé la Cassava Republic Press, et que j’ai eu le privilège d’interviewer pour ‘Women Leading Africa‘.
Je suis honorée d’avoir été invitée à prendre la parole lors d’une discussion sur “Ecrire la Sexualité”. L’ensemble du programme Yari Yari est libre et le grand public est invité à y assister, à participer et apprendre de toutes les personnes ressources qui seront là.
Cliquez ci-dessous pour le liens programme complet et communiqué de presse
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The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) congratulates women parliamentarians elected in Ghana’s 2012 elections
The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) congratulates women parliamentarians elected in Ghana’s 2012 elections
[tp lang=”en” not_in=”fr”]The African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) congratulates all women parliamentarians elected in Ghana’s 2012 elections. The 30 women who were successfully elected into Ghana’s next parliament represent the highest number of women parliamentarians in Ghana’s Fourth Republic, and an increase of 11 women parliamentarians compared with the previous parliament.
In total, 133 women contested this year’s general election, for various roles, including Vice Presidential candidates and aspiring women parliamentarians. AWDF takes this opportunity to congratulate all these women for exercising their rights to political participation and demonstrating to all Ghanaians the importance of women to Ghana’s democratic process. Theo Sowa, CEO of AWDF states, “ We should all be happy with the record number of women who contested the 2012 general elections as aspiring parliamentarians and Vice-Presidents and the increase in the number of elected women parliamentarians. It is important that our young people see women aiming for the highest decision making positions in the land. We should acknowledge the many women’s rights activists and organisations that have advocated long and hard for women to have equal access to the highest public offices. The increased numbers are a tribute to their hard work, yet the low overall percentage of women in Ghana’s parliament shows how much further we need to go. ”
It is our hope that in the next Government women will be more equitably represented in various decision-making positions including in the cabinet, ministerial positions and on various boards. Ghana has been widely referred to as one of Africa’s strongest examples of democracy. Yet the percentage of women in Ghana’s parliament continues to lag far behind percentages in many other African countries with far newer democracies, including Rwanda (56%), Mozambique (39%) and 42.3% in South Africa. AWDF looks forward to the newly elected women parliamentarians, and their male counterparts, working together to achieve true equity for the women of Ghana[/tp]
[tp lang=”fr” not_in=”en”]Le Fonds Africain de Développement de la Femmes (AWDF) félicite toutes les femmes parlementaires élues lors les élections de 2012 au Ghana. Les 30 femmes qui ont été élues avec succès lors des dernières élections parlementaires du Ghana représentent le plus grand nombre de femmes parlementaires de la quatrième République du Ghana, et une augmentation de 11 femmes parlementaires par rapport à la législature précédente.
Au total, 133 femmes ont concouru pour les élections générales de cette année, pour les différents rôles, y compris les candidats présidentiels et vice aspirants femmes parlementaires. AWDF saisit cette occasion pour les féliciter toutes d’exercer leurs droits à la participation politique et de démontrer à tous les Ghanéens l’importance des femmes au processus démocratique du Ghana. Theo Sowa, directrice générale d’AWDF déclare, “Nous devrions tous être heureux avec le nombre record de femmes qui ont concouru pour les élections générales de 2012 en tant que parlementaires en herbe et vice-présidentes et l’augmentation du nombre de femmes parlementaires élues. Il est important que nos jeunes voient des femmes visant les plus hauts postes de prise de décision dans le pays. Nous devons reconnaître les militants et les organisations qui ont prévu une route longue et difficile pour les femmes pouravoir un accès égal aux fonctions publiques les plus élevées au même titre que les hommes. L’augmentation du nombre est un hommage à leur travail acharné, mais le faible pourcentage global de femmes dans le parlement du Ghana montre que nous devons aller beaucoup plus loin . ”
Il est notre espoir que dans le prochain gouvernement les femmes seront plus équitablement représentées dans les différents postes de décision, y compris dans l’armoire, des postes ministériels et à divers conseils. Le Ghana a été largement considéré comme l’un des plus forts exemples d’Afrique pour la démocratie. Pourtant, le pourcentage de femmes dans le parlement du Ghana reste à la traîne loin derrière les pourcentages de nombreux autres pays africains avec des démocraties bien plus récentes, dont le Rwanda (56%), le Mozambique (39%) et 42,3% en Afrique du Sud. AWDF attend avec impatience les femmes parlementaires nouvellement élus, et de leurs homologues masculins, qui travaillent ensemble pour atteindre une véritable égalité pour les femmes du Ghana. [/tp]