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Market queens tasked to lead fight against domestic violence
• Madam Malonin Asibi (right with mic) swearing in the committees
Market queens and leaders in big markets in Ghana have been tasked to lead the fight against of domestic violence and related family abuses.
This is because most of the markets in the country have large population mostly made up of women and some of the abuses take place there, as children visit their mothers after school hours.
A director at the Domestic Violence Secretariat of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), Madam Malonin Asibi said this at the inauguration of the market queens in Western Region after training them to solve minor domestic violence cases.
She said family problems were everywhere and the ministry did not want these problems to generate into major ones which might cause children to be on the streets and eventually lead them to be armed robbers or other hardened criminals.
Malonin Asibi noted that the market queens and other opinion leaders commanded respect at the various markets and, therefore, urged women with domestic violence problems to contact these committees to address their issues.
She explained that in a previous experiment conducted at six markets in Accra the committees performed creditably hence the decision by the Ministry to extend the advocacy training to Takoradi, Sekondi, Kojokrom, Apremdo and Jubilee Park Markets, all in the Western Region.
The Western Regional Director of the Ghana Legal Aid, Mrs. Sweetie Sowah said her outfit provided legal aid for those who could not afford a lawyer at the Law Courts.
She urged the women to approach her for amicable solution of their family problems because it was the best place for problem solving instead of going to the courts which delayed proceedings.
The Kojokrom Market Queen, Nana Grace Essandoh said the training was an eye opener and had empowered women to report cases of abuse and fight for their rights.
Mama Esssandoh advised all the traders at the various markets to approach the committees with any domestic violence issue for amicable solution adding “we will not favour women because we are women, be sure you have not abused your husbands.”
From Peter Gbambila, Kojokrom.
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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
