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Breaking the bias: Women can also propose to men …Queen declares
The queen of Apinto Divisional Council in the Western Region, Nana Abena Boaduwaa 11, says there is nothing wrong for a woman to make a marriage proposal to a man she loves.
Traditionally in Africa, men usually propose to women who they desire to marry and so, over the years, in accordance with customs and religion, it is men who buy the rings and also present drinks to seal a marriage.
But, in a radical shift, Nana Boaduwaa proposed that, a lady could propose to a man without fear of undermining his status.
She was speaking with The Spectator on the sidelines of a ceremony to mark this year’s International Women’s Day organised by Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Tarkwa Mine, at Abekoase Tebe, in the Prestea -Huni Valley Municipality of the Western Region on Tuesday.
The day, which celebrates women for their immense contribution towards national development and raises awareness on the need for parity in all spheres of life was on the theme, ‘Break the Bias’.
Nana Boaduwaa stressed “If you’re madly in love with your boyfriend and he hasn’t any intentions of proposing to you anytime soon, you can break the bias and propose to him strategically, that is privately”.
She continued: “Since the guy will know how much the lady loves him, he will be more likely to say ‘yes’ to the proposal.
Vice President of Sustainable Development and Gold Fields West Africa, Dr Celestina Allotey, also said the prioritisation of girl-child education should be the focus of parents.
She added “I am emphasising the education of girls because of the perception of people that even when the girls go to school they will end up in the kitchen. I am a woman but because I was sent to school and I took my education seriously, I am currently an engineer in the mining company and I cook in the kitchen too.”
Dr Allotey disagreed to the idea that education of boys should take precedence over that of girls, adding “we normally use social and cultural misconceptions to discriminate against girls in terms of access to education.”
“Even though today, more parents are educating their girls, there still exist some levels of prejudice against the education of girls,” she indicated.
The Prestea -Huni Valley Municipal Director of Education, Mrs Mary Vida Kwofie, also admonished girls to concentrate on their studies to become future assets to their parents and the nation.
From Clement Adzei Boye, Abekoase Tebe
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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
