When Ghana moves beyond aid, there will be no 'Moeshas'

Moesha Boduong has rocked Ghana with some uncomfortable truths. Speaking to CNN’s Chief International correspondent in an interview, she asserted the following: Ghana’s economy is tough, our rents are high and women depend on rich men to make ends meet

The release of the highlights of the interview led to a predictable chorus of condemnations. It is said that she demeaned many hardworking Ghanaian women.

Let me begin by sympathizing with the many hardworking women who support themselves and take care of men and feel understandably upset. It is disappointing that Ms Amanpour did not get Moesha to clarify her comments with appropriately targeted follow-up questions. Trading sex for favours is a very complicated topic and many of those who do so do not accept money in return for these favours.

Nobel Prize laureate George Bernard Shaw illustrated this with a story. While at a party, he turned to a high society woman sitting next to him and asked, “Madam, would you sleep with me for ten pounds?” The woman was outraged. “What? Do you take me for a prostitute?” She queried. The Nobel laureate apologized. About 3 hours later, he turned to the same woman and asked, “Madam, would you go to bed with me for £1 million pounds?”.

“Well”, she said, “I guess– there is a lot that I can do with a million pounds!”. Bernard Shaw paused for a long moment and then said, “So, Madam, the problem is the PRICE, not the PRINCIPLE”. I believe there are quite a few women damning Moesha who upon careful reflection, might recall Moesha moments or periods in their lives.

There are quite a number of women, not a majority who owe some of their success to some strategic dispensing of carnal favours. To be fair, there are quite a number of men who also owe their success to their work in some “gardens of Eden”. And this, by the way, is not a Ghanaian phenomenon.

It appears to me that many who are casting stones at Moesha are forgetting the Biblical injunction to “those without sin to cast the first stone”. And right behind the women casting stones are men who are paying for apartments, giving promotions and giving unearned grades to women like Moesha! God is watching!

Finally, there is a Silver lining. When we move to “Ghana beyond aid”, our economy will be so good that there will be no Moeshas!

Long live Ghana.