Entertainment of Saturday, 14 April 2018
Source: Myjoyonline.com
2018-04-14
Otiko Afisah Djaba is outraged at Moesha Bodoung’s “mercenary behavior”.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afiah Djaba, has denounced the “destructive” comments by Moesha Boduong, suggesting that the Ghanaian economy forces women to offer sex for financial help.
Ms. Djaba said although Moesha has the right to discuss her lifestyle on any platform, “she does not represent the multitudes of hardworking Ghanaian women.”
Moesha Boduong in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, claimed the economy is so bad that women are pushed into sexual relationships with men who can cater for their financial needs.
She told the celebrated journalist, who was in the country to produce a documentary that: “In Ghana, our economy is such a way that you need someone to take care of you. You can’t make enough money as a woman here. Because even when you want to get an apartment, in Ghana they take two years’ advance and I just started working where will I get money to pay?”
Although Moesha has reportedly issued a public apology over the statement, the Gender Minister, Otiko Afisah Djaba, has in a release, cautioned “publicity-hungry actresses and socialites that while it is within their right to bask in infamy and self-ridicule, they have no right to drag decent, hardworking Ghanaian women into their destructive obsession with notoriety and infamy at any price.”
“Ghana is a respectable country with a great heritage and proud citizens. If any Ghanaian cannot lift high the flag of Ghana, the least he/she can do is not to soil the image nor smear the reputation of our motherland,” she advised.
She further appealed to media organisations, “including CNN, to respect our structures and contact established national agencies like the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Ministry of Culture and Information when they are producing programmes on Gender and Social Issues in Ghana”.
Below is the full statement
RE: MINISTRY OF GENDER, CHILDREN & SOCIAL PROTECTION CONDEMNS & DISASSOCIATES GHANAIAN WOMEN FROM MOESHA BODUONG’S INTERVIEW ON CNN
The Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MoGCSP) has monitored the comments made by Ms. Moesha Boduong, a Ghanaian actress, on CNN with dismay and dissatisfaction. We wish to dissociate Ghanaian women from the comments of Ms. Moesha Boduong. Ms. Moesha has the right to discuss her lifestyle on any platform but she does not represent the multitudes of hardworking Ghanaian women putting in 10 – 18 hours a day in the fields, markets and offices across Ghana, to put food on the table, find shelter for their children and guide their families through the turbulence of life to the extraordinary vision of “A Ghana Beyond Aid”, which is within our reach.
In the face of the giant strides that women from all walks of life in Ghana are making to assert their independence, re-discover their pride and assert their self-esteem, the sweeping generalizations made by Ms. Moesha on international prime time television have invariably done great damage to Ghanaian womanhood, apart from casting Ghanaian men as predatory, uncaring and rapacious. On behalf of Ghanaian women and men, the Ministry condemns Moesha’s statements and in particular her generalizations, which are unjustified.
Our outrage is situated in Ms. Moesha’s presumption to tar many Ghanaian women with this mercenary behavior. This was made worse by blaming her excessive, lavish lifestyle on the economy of Ghana. Ghana is a developing country but her citizens are striving hard to create an environment in which all citizens can achieve their aspirations with a measure of dignity and respect. Our economy cannot be blamed if a minute minority of Ghanaians decide to live opulent, flamboyant and amoral lifestyles without any discernible means of livelihood. Indeed, Ghanaian women are considered the engine of growth in the informal sector because of their contributions, tenacity, creativity, sacrifice and hard work in the face of all their challenges. The various Government policies, legislation and poverty reduction interventions for females since independence to date are designed to transform their lives and protect them from various abuses. This is development in progress, as we better enforce laws to reduce inequalities and strengthen institutions for equity, access to eduction, financial and productive inclusion.
We wish to appeal to our international friends and partners, especially media organizations including CNN, to respect our structures and contact established national agencies like the Ministry of Gender, Children & Social Protection, Ministry of Culture and Information when they are producing programmes on Gender and Social Issues in Ghana. We have no desire to obstruct the freedom of these media organizations in their selection of subjects and resource persons, but we believe a view from the national representative body will provide a balanced story which will do justice to the subject matter.
Finally, we wish to caution publicity-hungry actresses and socialites that while it is within their right to bask in infamy and self-ridicule, they have no right to drag decent, hardworking Ghanaian women into their destructive obsession with notoriety and infamy at any price. Ghana is a respectable country with a great heritage and proud citizens. If any Ghanaian cannot lift high the flag of Ghana, the least he/she can do is not to soil the image nor smear the reputation of our motherland.
Thank you.
Signed
Otiko Afisah Djaba
Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection