‘Education will equip women with desired skills, knowledge’
The Women’s Commissioner of the James Topp Nelson Yankah Hall of the University of Ghana (UG), Ms Olga Kwamin, has underscored the need for women to be educated in the society.
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She said education would not only equip women with the desired skills and knowledge, but will also empower them to make use of the acquired knowledge and skills to the utmost benefit of society.
Ms Kwamin was speaking at a panel discussion during a forum to sensitise participants to the roles of women in ensuring sustainable development in the country, in Accra last Tuesday.
The forum, organised by the James Topp Nelson Yankah Hall, formed part of the hall’s activity line-up for a one-week celebration.
It was on the topic, “Today’s woman, a tool for sustainable national development”.
She said the world continued to transform issues of women through education, which had become significant. However, she was quick to add that there were a number of problems that women continued to face in education.
Nagging problems
“Women face problems such as the system of early marriage, religious and socio-cultural beliefs, sex – role and stereotyping. There is an urgent need to look at some of the nagging problems that affect women’s access to various development services,” Ms Kwamin said.
She pointed out that there was the need for society to change its attitude towards women’s education, adding that “Young girls should be encouraged to benefit from the fruits of education, not merely for their own improvement.”
She urged the government to make efforts to implement laudable policies on women’s education and intensify national awareness campaign on the importance of women’s education, stressing that that could be done by empowering women to take up interesting and challenging courses that were associated with men in the tertiary institutions.
Women’s empowerment
The Head of the Human Resource Department of Teachers Fund, Ms Rosemond Assah Aboagye, said the role of women could not be underestimated as there were women who were found in enviable positions in the country.
She said women played vital roles in the country’s socio-economic development, stating that the engagement of women in small and medium-scale businesses and other activities would contribute to the development of the country’s economic development.
A broadcast journalist at BTV, Mr Winston Tackie, called for mentorship to ensure proper guidance for the youth, especially women, observing that most of the time, people tended to read and listen to stories told and written as the source of motivation.