Advance women’s empowerment – COP Addo-Danquah
Stakeholders must unite to advance women’s economic empowerment, the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), Commissioner of Police (COP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo-Danquah, has stated.
She said when women were economically empowered, they reinvest a substantial portion of their income into their families and communities, fueling cycle of poverty reduction and sustainable development.
COP Addo-Danquah said this at Ghana’s Chapter of the Young African Women Congress Network (YAWCN) in Accra over the weekend.
The congress, on the theme; ‘Positioning Women for Economic take-off in the 21 century,’ was to discuss women empowerment issues.
The programme was attended by academia, women group organisations, medical practitioners, lawyers, students and parliamentary candidates.
She said according to 2019 data of the International Labour Organisation, women accounted for only 16 per cent of all people working in industries worldwide, and made up 39 per cent of global workforce, holding 29 per cent of managerial positions, and only 16 per cent chief executive positions in large corporations.
The Executive Director stated that women continued to face obstacles, including gender-based discrimination, unequal access to education and resources, cultural biases which hinder the collective prosperity of nations.
“We need to break down these barriers and create a more inclusive environment that foster women’s participation,” she added.
The President of YAWCN, Ghana’s Chapter, Ms Matilda Hammond, in her remarks, said the summit was crucial for members and non-members to connect, learn, share ideas and network with accomplished women.
She said the vision of the Young African Women Congress Network was to connect young women of Africa and diaspora to a common platform for intellectual discourse and knowledge sharing for women’s development geared towards political and socio-ecocomic development.
Ms Hammond stressed the need to ensure “inclusive and equitable economy” that unleashes the potential of women.
A Medical Doctor of Halm Hospital, Dr John Kofi Halm, in a presentation on the topic ‘prioritise your reproductive health,’ urged women to adopt personal hygiene.
He said they should endeavour to avoid putting chemicals into vagina, bath regularly, especially during menstruation, wear cotton pants and avoid dirty finger insertion.
“Women should avoid harmful drinks, alcohol, caffeine, sugar and excessive animal products,” he added.
Dr Halm, who is also a parliamentary candidate for Trobu Constituency in the Greater Accra Region, advised women to visit the hospital regularly to check for breast lumps, cancers and irregular menstruation.
As part of the occasion, topics such as entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, mentorship and experiences by accomplished women were shared.
BY ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI
