NDC should refrain from treating Ghanaian women differently!

Apparently, I have been compelled to come out with this brief periodical following a seemingly poignant question posed by a long-term friend. My pal quizzed: “so NDC is not interested in the development of Ghanaian women football after all?”

In a state of puzzled countenance, I cleared my throat in a quick succession, coughed spontaneously (not Ayarecough), sighed briefly and responded somewhat gingerly: “what informed your weird question?”

It was at this juncture that my pal explained passionately that 17th November 2018 supposed to be a special day in the history of Ghanaian football.

My friend however stressed that the aforementioned date is special in the sense that Ghana is hosting African Women Football for the first time.

He, however, bemoaned the fact that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) somehow did not see anything wrong in scheduling their National Congress to coincide with the opening ceremony.

Obviously, I did share in my friends sentiments over NDC’s apparent insensitivity.

In fact, the only logical conclusion one can draw from the NDC’s weird decision is that they are careless about the development of women football in Ghana. Indeed, they do not give a hoot about the development of Ghanaian women football.

If that was not the case, what other explanation one can offer as to why the largest opposition party would choose to betray our women?

More so I do not want to buy a section of NDC loyalists idiosyncratic explanation that it was an oversight. It could not have been, because the organisers of the tournament did a fantastic job by bombarding the air waves with well-crafted adverts.

Taking everything into consideration, the only adverse inference we can draw from the unfortunate incident is that the National Democratic Congress (NDC) is rather belittling the women football. How condescending could they be?

My pal could not have said it any better when he ventured to state that the whole thing points to the fact that some politicians are selfish, manipulative and do not care about the wellbeing of others.

Indeed, the NDC apparatchiks only want the votes of Ghanaian women to help them win power in order to pursue their parochial interests. How unselfish could they be?

Given that millions of Ghanaian women are unrepentant NDC followers, one would have expected the leadership to show reciprocity by thronging to the Accra Sports Stadium to offer their support to our patriotic women instead of attempting to disrupt the tournament with their National Congress.

How can supposedly patriotic Ghanaians choose to follow narrow political lines at the expense of the bigger national interests?

In fact, by choosing to organise the event at such a crucial date, the NDC apparatchiks have deliberately denied the women tournament of thousands of supporters, who otherwise would have thronged to the Accra Sports Stadium to offer their support to our valiant women.

In fact, all well-meaning Ghanaians must condemn the NDC’s appalling decision. Suffice it to stress that they would not have organised the event at such a crucial date if the tournament was for men.

It is quite unfortunate that in this day and age, some people would expect a typical woman to restrict herself to kitchen, to devote herself virtually to the care of a man and her children.

IN Ghana today, most women are believed to be discriminated against in all walks of life, including jobs, pay, education and welfare.

It used to be said that women must do twice as well as men to be seen half as good, and yet young women are often encouraged to see marriage and the family as their only viable means in life and are therefore routinely dissuaded from learning most skills or studying the same subjects as boys.

In career options, women are mostly pointed in the direction of jobs such as selling petty goods, dressmaking, and hair dressing to pass off time till they get married and have babies. Then they get married with high hopes of a perfect family life—but it doesn't often work out like the ideal family of the millionaire’s world, especially when money is insufficient and a partner’s job is casual or menial.

It is also an undeniable fact that a sizeable number of women are financially dependent on a man, and without meaningful help, they Often cumbrously look after children and care for the infirm and the aged.

Unsurprisingly, therefore, the feminists groups hold a view that society's opinion formers’-- ranging from judges to journalists, politicians to technocrats, view women as second class citizens who often fail to utilise their perceptual powers of the mind to good effect.

It is also true that society unabashedly gives oxygen to the damning assertion of women natural role to look after home and children and men role as bread winners.

Inevitably, in order to keep up with these domestic duties, women are often expected to give up everything else; education, work (or at least decent, well-paid work), and outside interests of all kinds, including political activity.

In a grand scheme of things, we must all come together and condemn the NDC leadership with no uncertain terms for revoltingly belittling Ghanaian women’s football tournament.

K. Badu, UK.

k.badu2011@gmail.com