Speak up against gender-based violence women told at AngloGold Ashanti Orange Day programme at Obuasi
Panelists at the programme in a group shot with other participants
Society, especially victims of gender based violence should be bold to speak out about it and get culprits dealt with.
This was the recurring theme that permeated a panel discussion organized by Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi mine to mark 16 days of activism against Gender based violence.
The commemoration of the 16 days started on the 25th November and will end on 10th December, 2021.
Participants at the programme were educated on various types of abuse and how to deal with them. They also had the opportunity to share their stories and learn from each others experiences about the subject.
Managing Director for Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi mines; Dr. Eric Asubonteng revealed that there are policies that guard automatically against workplace gender based issues including harassment and other forms of violence against women. He explained that deliberate steps are in place for the rapid advancement of women in AGA Obuasi mine.
“We have made very deliberate efforts to ensure that we increase the representation of women within our workforce”, he started and added that just five years ago, women represented about 4% of AGA Obuasi mine’s workforce, a situation that have changed to over 11%. He admitted that even that is inadequate as more and more qualified women are being deliberately targeted and recruited into the human resource pool of AGA.
Dr. Eric Asunonteng who recounted how important and personal gender issues are to him as a father of three daughters, also explained how efforts are being made to empower women in Obuasi and its surrounding towns. He said the setting up of the Obuasi Enterprise Development Centre and another dedicated programme that trains women and helps them build their capacities are further testimonies of how AGA treats gender issues. He further assured that more resources will be channeled into such causes with the introduction of AGA’s new ten-year Social Management Plan.
Eunice Mensah; a political Affairs and Human Rights Officer at UNFPA Ghana who was part of a panel discussion called for a more focused effort at operationalizing gender-based laws in Ghana. She explained that although the law has its own inherent gaps, the main problem had to do with implementation.
For his part, Executive Director of AGA Health Foundation; Dr. Kwadwo Anim said some fifty thousand women die yearly from intimate or partner based violence. He explained that a lot of women lose their self-confidence and their potential to make impact in the society. “One of the worst scenarios is where they consider suicide as a solution”, he explained and added that these problems affect the victims, their families, their work and eventually leads to an imbalance which results in morbidity and/or mortality. He also made a case for abused children and encouraged all to speak up against gender based violence.
The moderator for the panel discussion; Madam Ama Duncan, Founder of Fabulous Woman Network commended the leadership of AGA for commemorating the day as according to her, ” very few organizations take it upon themselves to do so”. She encouraged women not to be overly dependent on men because financial vulnerability constituted a factor for gender based violence.
The 16 days of activism against Gender based violence is under the theme; “Orange the world: End Violence Against Women Now!”
