The former Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr. Otiko Afisa Djaba, has advised women to be confident rather than seeing themselves as inferior because of their gender.
According to Dr Afisa Djaba the sexual orientation of a woman should not prevent her from pursuing her dream.
She said, “You are not inferior because you are a woman, you are just like the man. Just that you have a different sex orientation, you should not ever stop yourself because you are a woman.”
Speaking on GhanaWeb TV’s Election Desk, she urged women to learn to speak their truth at all times under any circumstance and never settle for less due to their gender.
“In navigating and trying to find a balance you must be able to speak your truth. Do the things that you believe in. Don’t compromise just because you are a woman.”
She added, “A lot of times I was the only woman in those meetings. When I went for my first election as the woman organiser, out of the ten elected officers I was the only woman. Then others were appointed. So, you see the voices of women will be limited. So why am I there? To keep quiet? I didn’t go through all that troubles and elections to keep quiet.”
According to her, since men freely express their views there is nothing wrong for a woman to be bold and outspoken and that should not be perceived as rude.
Dr Djaba explained that standing firm on her decisions without compromising attracted a lot of unforgiving enemies.
“Sometimes if there is a decision that they feel that is what they wanted and everybody is going that way, they would want you to go the same way. Otiko Afisa Djaba I always spoke my truth. If all of us agree that we are going to do something and I feel that I am not in agreement with that, I will not follow the crowd and I didn’t. It cost me a lot. It created enemies, some of them have not forgiven me for some of the decisions and actions I stood by, but in this life, you have the right to speak your truth,” she stated.
She further explained that her confidence and uncompromising attitude resulted from a polygamous background.
She said, “I am one of 22 children, my father had 22 children and 10 wives, my mother left when I was 9 years old, so you are exposed to discrimination and if you don’t learn to speak up for yourself, then you are lost. And so from a very early age, I learnt how to speak out for myself and so it translated into my political life.
“If I have something that I believe in and want to do nothing will stop me from doing it unless the intervention of God. Because of my experience as a child from a polygamous home so in navigating you must understand your worth and that what you have to contribute is just as important as the next person. So, you don’t allow anybody to disqualify you or disqualify yourself.”
RAD/ ADG
