Encourage Women To Participate In Nation Building – Mrs. Rawlings

Former First Lady and President of the 31st December Women’s Movement (DWM), Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings has called for encouragement of women in the country to fully and effectively participate in the development of Ghana.

According to her, such support could be achieved if both sexes saw each other as partners instead of competitors, adding that men and women should learn to collaborate in all sectors of society to achieve women empowerment.

Mrs. Rawlings made the call when she delivered a lecture at the Takoradi Polytechnic as part of activities marking the 2013 Students Representative Council (SRC) Week celebrations.

The President of the DWM, who spoke on the theme: “Empowerment of the 21st Century Woman,” said female enrolment and achievement must be realized at all levels of society in accordance with Vision 2020 principles, noting that empowerment of women was the key to the achievement of results in every country.

She stated that Vision 2020 set a target of improving the health and nutritional status of women because a healthy woman brought forth healthy children and thus a healthy family.

Women, she said, were also to be encouraged to have access to productive resources such as capital and technology.

Touching on discipline, the former first lady called on all students to learn to be different saying, “do not dress irresponsibly and call it fashion. Learn to be different.”

Mrs Rawlings praised the late Margaret Thatcher for changing the political paradigm of the United Kingdom and further acknowledged that like all humans, Thatcher made mistakes adding that the former British Prime Minister should be celebrated because she served as a major encouragement to many women.

“She was strong and formidable and led the UK as well as all the countries of the Commonwealth.”