Social commentator, Kwame Asare Obeng (A Plus), has backed President Akufo-Addo’s comments on Gender dynamism despite the mixed reactions that have emerged following the latter’s comments at a recent conference in Canada.
The president, during the conference suggested that not enough movement is being made by women to take up key positions in governance; and that although 30 per cent of his cabinet are women, they are not seeing enough dynamism and activism from the women.
But the comment has received massive criticism by his political opponents and some women activists who feel the president presented a negative picture about women.
Speaking on GHOne TV’s ‘The late Afternoon Show’, A Plus, noted that it was outrageous for critics to insinuate that Akufo-Addo had bad intentions with his comments; suggesting it was targeted at portraying men in a bad light.
Reasonable men he insisted, many as a matter of fact, are very supportive of women and would not hesitate to push them to the heights they should get where necessary. Citing a few instances where he has had to step in to defend and urge women on, he said;
“It is only foolish men who don’t support women, why won’t we support women?
“I don’t deal with man and woman, I deal with human beings. When the woman lost her family in the fire at Mampong, I woke up, went all the way to Mampong to look for the woman and then we raised money, there were so many men who were calling, wanting to support the course.
I am a feminist, I support any woman, even in the same school I put on my facebook post and vouched for the secretary and Womens commissioner”
“The comments Akufo-Addo made was right. This system is open and we are telling women come out”, he said.
Women he believes are ‘their own problems’ as more often than not, they belittle themselves and give up rather easily in the face of a few challenges.
“When we were in school, one woman wanted to vie for PASA President and she had the record to show, it was the women who called in one corner and said her contestant, a man should go, telling her she is over ambitious. Women are their own problems.
The problem people have is they don’t respect, some feminists don’t even know what they are about. The first Lady is not a feminist but she is interested in women and children”, he said.
Source: www.ghanaweb.com
