Liberate your minds to enable you see the value of women – Esther Cobbah to men

Chief Executive Officer of Stratcomm Africa, Esther Cobbah has told men in the society to free their minds in order to see and appreciate the value that women bring on board.

She said this in connection with a comment made by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to the effect that Ghanaian women have not shown enough dynamism, while speaking on the New Day show on TV3 as part of the International Women’s Day celebration on Monday March 8.

Mr Akufo-Addo in his contribution at the Women Deliver Conference in Canada in 2019 said he was yet to see dynamism in Ghanaian women.

“We are not seeing enough dynamism and activism on the part of those who are seeking. I am talking about dynamism where it matters…electing people to Parliament, controlling political parties because they are the instruments by which our societies make decisions.

“We are talking about decisions, not wishes and hopes, we are talking about decisions that are going to make the difference,” the President said.

Asked whether women have not shown enough dynamism as is being stated by the President, Ms Esther Cobbah who is an award-winning communications consultant told host of the show Berla Mundi that “I believe that women have been showing dynamism for years. If you look at Ghana’s economy women are holding their own in that area. There is a lot of informal businesses and most of these are ran by women.

“Women are taking care of families, women are holding so much together in this country. What is left is for the men to liberate their minds and be able to see the value that women bring.

“We are working at it as women but society itself has to appreciate the value that they get from women. Otherwise women will continue to show dynamism and men will not even see.”

She also asked women to assist men in liberating their minds to appreciate the value they have.

“We also have the responsibility to help men to liberate their minds, in some cases by liberating our own minds and refusing to be confined by society because as for men, unfortunately, they are where they are.

“We liberate our minds and we free them from the situation where they are not leveraging the value that we bring.”

Meanwhile, the First Lady Rebecca Akufo-Addo has said that it is so imperative that women from all walks of life heed the clarion call to continually support women’s tireless efforts at bringing different expertise, experiences, perspectives and skills to the table, and make concrete contributions to decisions, policies and laws that work better for all.

She said on the day of the International Women’s Day on March 8 that, also of great importance is the need to uphold the rights and fully leverage the potentials of women leaders in pandemic preparedness, response, and recovery.

“The perspectives of women and girls, in all of their diversity, must be integrated in the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes in all spheres to attain the desired results.

“Efforts must be made to disseminate information on how women’s immunity and ability to fight the COVID-19 can be boosted by adopting healthy lifestyles and eating more nutritious locally produced foods as well as exercising and keeping to the safety protocols,” she said in a statement.

She added that “The celebration of the International Women’s Day continues to be very relevant because of the many issues concerning women and girls that deserve to be highlighted and given the requisite attention.

“Ghana, commended by the World Health Organisation for her resilience in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, is making her presence felt amidst the prevailing challenges by using the occasion to focus on the effects of the pandemic on women and girls and map out strategies to ease their suffering.

“This is critical because right from the onset of the pandemic, around the end of 2019, women have been identified as front-liners in managing the crisis, in their role as healthcare workers, caregivers, innovators, and community organisers, among others. Many of them have also been recognised as most exemplary national leaders in combating the disease, with a majority demonstrating their skills, knowledge and networks to effectively lead in the response and recovery efforts.”

By Laud Nartey|3news.com|Ghana