Meet women newsmakers in 2014
As the year 2014 rolled by, some women were honoured, some blazed the trail to make the news, while others were discovered and profiled as sources of encouragement to others.
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Today, the Gender Page brings you highlights of some of the articles that were featured.
Ms Rita Odoley Sowah
Ms Rita Odoley Sowah is the only female chief executive in the Greater Accra Region. She is the first Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for the La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA).
The municipality was carved out of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in 2012 and has 10 electoral areas, with Nii Amasah Namoale as its Member of Parliament (MP).
She is a native of La, where she has lived all her life, and asecretary by profession.
With a passion to see development in her municipality, Ms Sowah entered politics.
Working as a secretary at the National Lotteries Authority for nine years in the 1990s, Ms Sowah was always passionate about people exercising their franchise.
With no political party in mind, she would normally provide people with non-alcoholic beverages to encourage them to vote during elections, so that they could choose the best people to develop the La community.
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Dr Sylvia Josephine Anie
On January 15, 2014, Dr Sylvia Josephine Anie had her name published in the Times newspaper of London for being named a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) of the United Kingdom.
A Ghanaian scientist, Dr Anie is a chartered scientist and inventor and holds a patent for a compound she created at the University of Manchester, United Kingdom, relating to ‘Magnet Resonance Imaging of the gastro-intestinal tract’.
She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and steered affairs at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital for five years as a deputy chief executive.
She was instrumental in establishing Ghana’s multi-sectoral response to HIV and AIDS and was appointed the first Director of Policy, Research, Monitoring and Evaluation at the Ghana AIDS Commission (GAC) and served as a member of the Monitoring and Evaluation Reference Group of the UNAIDS in Geneva for a number of years.
Asuogyaman honours Theodosia Okoh
The Asuogyaman District Assembly honoured Mrs Theodosia Okoh, the designer of the Ghana National Flag. The assembly erected a bust in her honour at Anum, her home town, in the Eastern Region.
The over 90-year-old senior citizen was commended and praised by the chiefs and people of the community for bringing them honour.
Dr Fatima Mohammed
At the 2013/2014 graduation ceremony of the University for Development Studies (UDS), Dr Fatima Mohammed was declared the best graduating medical student.
She also received awards for her excellence in obstetrics and gynaecology.
Coming from the northern part of the country where female education is down the ladder, Dr Fatima’s achievements do not only serve as sources of encouragement to young and upcoming girls in the area but her resilience and hard work also make her a role model.
Lion Gloria Lassey
The immediate past District Governor (IPDG) of District 403 -A2 of the Lions Clubs International, Lion (Mrs) Gloria Esi Lassey, in the year under review, received three top awards for her excellent performance during her tenure of office.
Lion Lassey received the United In Service Award, which is presented to district governors who increase female membership in their districts by 25 per cent or more during their tenure of office.
The IPDG also received the Exceptional Leadership Award for maintaining healthy clubs and increasing membership throughout her year in office.
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Lion Lassey, who is the Managing Director of Diva Ghana Limited, an advertising and promotional products company, also received the 100 per cent Governor’s Excellence Award, the ultimate recognition and honour for any governor deemed by the international headquarters of the LCI to have excelled in the performance of every aspect of his or her duties.
Mona Helen Quartey
Ms Mona Helen Quartey was nominated by the President as a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning. Her nomination was later approved by Parliament.
With a specialisation in Broad Treasury, Risk Management and Corporate Finance in the corporate and government environments, she has over two decades of working experience in the financial sector.
Dr (Mrs) Gertrude Quashigah
The Dayspring Christian University, Mississipi (USA), acknowledged her enormous contribution to the development and advancement of humanity, and conferred an honorary doctorate degree on her.
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The university described her as an “illustrious food expert, nutritionist, healthy lifestyle advocate, entrepreneur, industrialist, philanthropist and most importantly, paving the way for the girl-child to emulate her legacy.”
Widow of Major Courage Quashigah (retd), a former Health Minister, Dr (Mrs) Quashigah started as a hospitality expert, restaurateur and entrepreneur, offering catering services, both at the local and international levels, serving state and corporate institutions, as well as offering canteen services to workers.