Meet Ghana's first female UN peacekeeper who defied gender expectations

Ghana’s first female United Nations peacekeeper, retired Lieutenant Colonel Georgina Mensah, has recalled her early days in the military and how she competed strongly with her male colleagues during training. Lt Col Mensah, now 83, said in an interview with Kafui Dey that she was the only woman among about 50 professionals who joined the Military Academy at the time, including professionals from finance, education, law and administration. Ghana Armed Forces to conduct major security drill across two regions According to her, despite being the only woman, she did not see herself as different and competed with the men during physical exercises, where she was able to outperform some of them. “I was the only woman in my team of professionals: finance, education, lawyers, administrators. I was the only woman in that team. We were about 50. It was great because I could challenge… I could do things some of the men could not do,” she said. She added that her military training came only months after she underwent major surgery for an ulcer at Agogo Hospital. She also revealed that she had passed the interview for the training before undergoing the surgery in January 1975. By April, she had been called to begin training but decided to report despite still carrying a large surgical scar. “By the time we went to the military academy, I had gone through a major surgery, three months. I had an ulcer and Agogo Hospital decided that it couldn't be cured unless they cut so, they split me up,” she recounted. “And meanwhile, we had attended the interviews, and I had passed. We were waiting for the date and I went for this surgery in January of 1975, and in April, they asked us to go for training and I decided I would go. And I had this scar starting from here to the navel,” she added. She said the first days of training were difficult because she was still recovering from the operation and had been treated gently while working as a teacher. “I couldn't straighten out. But when I got to the compound, and they started telling us to run, they were chasing us. It's a tough thing in the beginning and that is when people run away,” she said. However, she said that the physical demands of the training did not stop her from competing with the men. “I was then teaching at my hometown secondary school and so the headmaster treated me very softly so, when they asked me to run, I had it tough but that was the only time I had it tough,” she shared. Lt. Col. Mensah said her slim build and speed helped her perform strongly in some of the military exercises, with her regularly finished among the first trainees in the steeplechase, one of the demanding exercises during the training. “We have a wall with a scrambling rope. I could climb like a lizard… I was very slim. I was 45 kilos throughout my life. I could really run. President Mahama announces new salary scales for Ghana Armed Forces “Then when we had this, what they call the steeplechase, the first few people who came first were allowed to shoot blank and I was always one of them,” she added. Her performance during training was part of a military journey that eventually saw her become Ghana’s first female UN peacekeeper, breaking new ground for women in the Ghana Armed Forces. MAG/VPO BizTech: Ghana’s STEM revolution and building the workforce of tomorrow Source: www.ghanaweb.com
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