Meet some women who made the headlines
To encourage women to tell their stories, the Gender Page last year profiled a number of women achievers whose stories were intriguing and inspirational to serve as a source of encouragement to all women. We recall some of these articles.
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Patience Ashorkor Quaye
The International Association Of Woman Police (IAWP) presented the Excellence in Performance Award to the Head of Anti-Human Trafficking Unit of the Ghana Police Service, Superintendent Mrs Patience Ashorkor Quaye, at its annual training programme which came off in Durban, South Africa, in September this year.
The outstanding efforts of Supt Quaye, who is also the Co-ordinator of IAWP’s Region 18, have been recognised nationally, as well as internationally. In 2007, she was honoured by the US Secretary of State and the United States Embassy in Accra and in that same year, she was named as one of the eight heroes of the 2007 Human Trafficking Award.
In December 2009, she was again awarded for humility, passion, bravery and confidence by the Presbyterian Church of Ghana.
In 2010, Barak Obama, President of the United States of America, recognised her efforts during his maiden visit to the country.
As part of activities marking the 2013 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence, the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection honoured Mrs Quaye and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU) for their contribution to the campaign against gender-based violence in the country.
Cynthia Amoah
Another intriguing story was that of Madam Cynthia Amoah, a mother of seven, whose determination to engage in the sale of coconut to support her family caught the attention of our Western Regional reporter, Moses Dotsey Aklorbortu.
Narrating how she goes about her business on a typical day, she said after taking care of her children, she walked from her residence at Nkroful to Kansaworodu, boarded a vehicle to the villages and bought fresh coconut for sale.
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She explained that due to the difficulty in getting a means of transport as a result of the bad nature of the roads, she had to arrange with a driver to come to the village very early to carry the goods to the city, which was very expensive.
Eunice Bantle
There was yet another story of a 19-year-old Ms Eunice Bantle who worked as a welder among about 30 men at the Takoradi Port, welding and cutting thick steel plates for the repair and maintenance of some vessels.
Trained at the Takoradi Technical Institute (TTI) where she acquired skills in welding and fabrication, she said she was aware of the demands of the profession and fully prepared herself to enter the area.
Constance Swaniker
The Gender Page also featured Ms Constance Elizabeth Swaniker, the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Accent and Arts Company Limited who uses creative arts to capture and translate the essence of various themes by using wood, wrought iron, metal, glass and other materials.
Over the years, she has excelled in the sculpture, furniture and wrought iron industry; building gates, furniture, balustrades, burglar-proof metal bars, accents, garden décor and hand-painted wrought iron chandeliers, among many others.
Having ventured into a male-dominated sector, Ms Swaniker, whose creativity is inspired by nature, forms, shapes and lines, works with a team of 40 men made up of welders, sprayers, carpenters and artisans.
She produces traditional and contemporary designs to meet the needs of home owners, architects, interior designers and construction professionals, and her finished products can be found in reputable hotels, restaurants, offices and homes, including the African Regent Hotel.
Difie Dedo Kusi
In the area of politics and women empowerment, the page featured Mrs Difie Dedo Kusi who contested the parliamentary elections on the ticket of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the Lower Manya Constituency in the Eastern Region in 2004 and 2012.
Although she did not realise her ambition, since she lost the elections on both occasions, Mrs Kusi, an accomplished career diplomat, like other women whose efforts to go to Parliament have not been successful, is not discouraged and has a lot of experiences to share with prospective women who intend to stand for elections, as well as young women who need to be empowered to generate their interest in politics at the various levels of governance and decision making.
She said although her father was an Ashanti and her mother a Krobo and she had also lived in Krobo for some years, the major issues that were used against her were that she was not a Krobo and had not performed the traditional cultural rite for young Krobo women, ‘Dipo’.
Matilda Baffour Awuah
The Director General of the Ghana Prisons Service, Matilda Baffour Awuah, was inducted as the 23rd Director General and first woman to assume the position.
At a colourful ceremony, which attracted ministers of state, members of the diplomatic corps, high-ranking officials of the security services and a cross section of Ghanaians, the first woman Director General of Prisons promised to faithfully execute the responsibilities associated with the high office for the benefit of mother Ghana.
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