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Adiza Ibrahim Sadiq, changing the narrative among women in Zango Communities
Gorgeous Adiza Ibrahim
In a typical Zango (Muslim) community, women proudly settle to become homemakers with men usually the absolute breadwinners of the family and calling all the necessary shots.
However, Adiza Ibrahim Sadiq, an astute business executive is set to change the narrative by empowering Zango girls to take up the challenge of venturing into the working space, attain financial freedom and just like men, support their families.
The idea is not to ‘transfer power’ into the hands of women but rather make them resourceful to support their families and community at large.
Adiza Ibrahim, Head of Marketing and Media Relations Manager at Electroland Ghana Limited founded the Zango Women Livelihood and Empowerment Programme with the aim of providing skills for young girls to gain a source of livelihood and not relegated to the kitchen.
According to her, the financial liberation of women would help them do better, improve upon their self-esteem and position themselves to take up leadership roles.
The programme is driven by her Kuburah Diamonds Foundation, which she started in 2017 to give hope to young girls sharing life-changing stories and experiences to guide them to make better choices. She also runs a boutique with 70 percent of proceeds going into her charity works.
It is to change the perception that Muslim women are not supposed to work which she said has demoralised many. She set out to provide opportunities for women to work and excel.
She began with tackling many social issues including gender advocacy, child marriage, irresponsible parenting and teenage pregnancy.
Following the success of the advocacy, she then launched the fully-fledged empowerment programme which had since trained over 300 young girls with soft skills in make-up artistry, soap making, millinery, catering, events and décor for absolutely free of charge for the three years.
“A lot of women come to me for help one way or the other so I thought it would be better to provide them with the necessary skills to earn a decent living even at the comfort of their homes so they do not neglect their domestic obligations,” she stated.
That began what is gradually becoming a success story as many young girls continue to receive training to bridge the gap between the successful Muslim men as against the women.
Setting herself as an example as juggles between her corporate work(driven Electroland to greater heights) and social advocacies to empower the teens, adolescents and women especially those from the underprivileged communities, she is optimistic that the Muslim woman could be better when gainfully employed and educated.
Adiza believes that the future is very bright where a young girl would not cry because she cannot afford a sanitary pad, a woman would not give themselves out for sex because they need to survive and a future where young graduates can create their own jobs.
She is also looking forward to a future where Muslim women would go beyond the kitchen and marriage and men would understand that women are capable of supporting their homes.
“A future where women can have financial power and get away from abusive relationships as they can do better on their own,” she stated.
EDUCATION
Adiza attended Aggrey Memorial Junior High School (JHS) for her basic education before going to the Nsaba Presbyterian Senior High School. Prior to that, she attained computer literacy at the Genthil Computer System Community 2, Tema in 2003 after completing JHS.
She acquired a degree in Broadcast Journalism at the African University College of Communication (AUCC) in 2011.
Illustrous Adiza has an MBA in Marketing from the Central University and currently studying law (LLB) at the same university while looking forward to launching her book, ‘Hey, Diamond! Becoming An International Young Woman’ to add to the academic journals.
WORK
Mrs Sadiq had her National Service with the Ghana Ports and Habours Authority (GHAPOHA) in 2012 after her attachment with TV3 in 2011.
She was a Sales Person at Ghana Business Executive and Brands Manager for fashion brand Selina Beb before joining Azadea First Ghana Limited as Manager, Mango and now with Electroland.
AWARDS
She won the Overall Woman of the Year at the 6th Ghana Outstanding Women Awards 2023
Ghanaian Outstanding Woman of the Year 2023 and Ghana Outstanding Women Network 2023.
She also won an African Women Empowerment Award in 2020 and the Islamic Personality Awards as the Most Influential Female Personality and Ideal Muslima-Becoming in 2023.
FAMILY AND HOBBIES
Beautiful Adiza is married to media personality and politician, Baba Sadiq Abdulai Abu and the couple have three children.
She loves reading, writing and sharing ideas with people aside singing, laughing and sharing jokes, making her home a happy place at all times.
By Michael D. Abayateye
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Swedru All Blacks back to winning ways, Roshan humble King Faisal
Sekondi Rospak FC made it eight wins in eight successive home games after three second-half goals from John Amoah, Joseph Ntow and Stephen Anthony Kofi. John Amoah opened the scoring in the 55th minute after a barren first half. Joseph Ntow added to the tally in the 56th minute before Stephen Anthony Kofi rounded things up in the 74th minute to give Rospak a 3-0 win over former Premier League side King Faisal.
Elsewhere at Swedru – leaders Swedru All Blacks humbled PAC Academy in an emphatic 2-0 win. Zayat Bubakari scored first for Swedru All Blacks in the 27th minute before Rudolf Junior Nana Kwasi Mensah made it 2-0 in the 34th minute. Swedru All Blacks are top of the table with 36 points – 4 points ahead of second placed Rospak FC.
Meanwhile, Former Premier League side Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs recorded their fourth successive home victory after beaten New Edubiase United 2-1 at the Robert Mensah Park. Enoch Odoom struck first for Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs in the 19th minute but Steven Asante equalized for New Edubiase United before halftime. After the interval, Godfred Eshun scored from distance in the 65th minute to help Cape Coast Mysterious Dwarfs secure all the points.
Here are the results in Zone Two
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Cervical Cancer alert: Avoid sex at early age
The Programmes Manager of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) of the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr Mary Efua Commeh, has advised young girls to avoid sex at an early age.
This, she explained, will give the cervix the opportunity to mature before they become sexually active.
“You need to delay what we call the first sexual intercourse as much as possible to give the cervix the opportunity to mature before the person becomes sexually active,” she said.
Dr Commeh stated this in an interview with The Spectator in Accra on Tuesday as a part of the Cervical Cancer awareness month.
According to her, cervical cancer was the second leading female cancer in Ghana with a total of about 3,072 cases annually, and out of that, 1,815 deaths are recorded, representing more than 50 per cent.
She indicated that “If young girls are going to be sexually active, then you need to talk to your parents about being vaccinated.”
She explained that vaccinating young girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) has been found to be a very effective way of preventing cervical cancer.
“There are countries that started HPV vaccination years ago and they are not seeing any cervical cancers now because they would have eliminated most of the high-risk HPVs in their women. So if the high-risk HPV is not there, then obviously the results on cervical cancers are going to go down,” she added.
Dr Commmey said the HPV vaccination is recommended for young girls aged nine to 14 years, adding that it had been found to be highly effective, not just for cervical cancers but for other HPV-related cancers, such as anal cancers, cancers of the vagina, genital warts, amongst others.
She further elaborated that the idea is to put up a barrier before the HPV comes in and that once a young female encounters it, she is already protected.
She also mentioned that for cervical cancers, the main cause is called HPV infection, saying generally, all sexually active women acquire HPV at some point in their lives.
However, the Programmes Manager of NCDs at the GHS mentioned that the body has a way of clearing the HPV, explaining that it is a natural mechanism that goes on, unfortunately, there are a few women whose HPV persists.
Moreover, she noted that the numbers for Cervical Cancer tend to be much higher because at times, clients would wait, and try all sorts of medications before they finally report to the health facility saying “we actually lose some women before they get to the hospitals with over 75 per cent of the cases coming in its third and fourth stages.”
Dr Commey, therefore, called for public awareness while ensuring the availability of information for prevention and control.
By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu
