Otiko Afisah Djaba, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection
The abuse and victimisation of Ghanaians in Gulf States is unacceptable, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Otiko Afisah Djaba, has said.
There have been several reports of human rights violations, torture, enslavement and sexual abuse against Ghanaians, particularly, female domestic workers in the Gulf States.
The unsuspecting females, who travel to those countries for greener pastures, are either forced into doing demeaning domestic work or prostitutes.
The Government of Ghana, in 2017, placed a temporary ban on recruitment of workers to the Gulf countries after a hype in reported cases of abuse.
Addressing beauticians and hairdressers at the 8th Annual Salon Academy of the National Association of Beauticians and Hairdressers in Accra on Monday, 15 January 2018, Ms Djaba complained about the rate at which young people migrate to the Gulf States in search for non-existing jobs.
Ms Djaba, however, seized the opportunity to encourage the youth to take vocational and technical training seriously in order to become employable. She also urged them to take advantage of initiatives of the Akufo-Addo government such as Free SHS, Planting for Food & Jobs; and also take advantage of the friendly business environment prevailing in the country, to make a living.
"This Government is disturbed by the increasing reports on Ghanaian women migrants being abused in the Gulf States and other countries. On this backdrop, I would like to encourage you to take this training seriously and equip yourselves with the needed skills to become gainfully employed. We urge you to link up with the ‘One District One Factory’ [programme] and start to manufacture shampoo, hair creams, attachments and accessories.
“We are on the brink of creating a new Ghana and the chief architect, our President Nana Addo is creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship, and business to grow,” Ms Djaba stressed.
The theme for this year’s annual salon academy was, “Creating the Best Learning Environment in all Training Centres”, which the minister said is in line with government’s policy of prioritising Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) to build the capacity of young men and women and to provide them with employment skills and jobs.
“We need to have a level-playing field for women. This will remove the barriers of discrimination and inequalities in the society,” she said.
