Women Don’t Seek to Rise Above Men But to Have Space – Aninkroma Queen

The Queen of Aninkroma in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region, Nana Akosua Akyaa II, known in Private life as Dr Phyllis Tawiah, has dismissed misconceptions about the fight for gender equality in various spheres.

She posits that the fight is not geared toward competing with men to take their place but accessing enough space to show off women’s potential.

Speaking on career building at the 2025 Mentorship Masterclass Programme, an initiative by Lady Julia Osei Tutu, organized by the Otumfuo Osei Tutu II Foundation (OOTIIF), she said there was a special call to empower the next generation, particularly, young women and girls to change the narrative.

“It doesn’t mean we want to rise above the men. It just means we need space to operate,” she stated and took inspiration from Maya Angelo’s quote: ‘My mission in life is not to survive but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour and some style’.

Outlining the significance of career goals, she said it motivates and helps make informed decisions.

In her submission, she said discovering oneself; setting clear goals; seeking education and continuous knowledge; learning hard and soft skills; networking and mentorship; being resilient and Adaptable; taking action; and building skills are the bedrock to achieving career goals.

She further counselled the mentees from selected Senior High Schools in the Ashanti Region to learn the hard skills and develop their careers.

Nana Akosua Akyaa II psyched the students about the competitiveness of the world of careers and challenged them to seek excellence.

“Career options are many but the field is competitive. We are not looking for people who don’t know anything. Aim to excel because excellence is an attitude. You don’t need any training but just decide to be.”

Women and STEM
Prof Mrs Mercy Badu, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Chemistry at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) took the students through a fascinating lecture on STEM, listing some of the few, yet prominent and impactful Ghanaian females in the area including Prof Akosua Dickson- Pharmacist, Dr Augustina Angelina- Virologist, Dr Angela  Tabi- Mathematician, Lizzy Quist- Scientist and others.

She emphasised that STEM was a perfect opportunity available to all mankind.

“Who is supposed to be in STEM? And I say, everybody…We have unique perspectives. We have unique ways of seeing things, interpreting them and putting them into action… If you have the flair, if you know how to analyse, if you know how to think deep into issues, if you think something small about STEM fascinates you, we need you to be there. We need you to be there to inspire others.”

Outlining some challenges women in the field face, she addressed them with ideal solutions.

“It is there and it has been there since so it’s not going to change. You just have to make a difference.”

She directed students nurturing even the smallest passion for any of the STEM courses to take training courses in the second cycle of education and further it with the main course in the university.

Encouraging the girls to take advantage of the myriad of scholarships and grant opportunities for STEM education available to women, she indicated that there was an extensive variety of job opportunities in teaching, the Telecom industry, the Food industry, the Health Sector and more.

Women in Leadership
For her part, Nana Prof Ekua Suapim Nyaniba I, Queen of Dehia in Cape Coast, shared her personal story where a female friend tried to discourage her from pursuing higher educational feats using a bible quotation.

“When I decided to go for higher education from Bachelor’s to Masters. I talked to a friend about the intention and she told me, ‘Why are you trying to fight for women?’ She was a very strong churchgoer. She said Timothy said in the Bible that ‘God said do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over men. She must be silenced’.”

She observed fear is the stumbling block to women in pursuing higher education and egged the ladies on to overcome it.

“We always don’t push further. Most women are afraid to move further in education.”

Stigma
The Country Director of World University Service of Canada, Mrs Appiah Wife Adofo, took the students through stigma, specifically Gender-based violence and directed the mentees on how to address them.

She indicated that women are at risk of sexual harassment, discrimination, and the like.

“We have deep-seated cultural and social norms that really sometimes act as barriers for women to be able to enter into these spaces,” she said, adding that gender-based violence is rooted in gender inequality.

Event
The annual Masterclass Mentorship programme was held at the KNUST on March 7, 2025.

Gracing the event was the wife of the Asantehene, Lady Julia, Board Chairman of the OOTIIF, Nana Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei Woahene II, the Vice Chancellor of KNUST, Prof Rita Akosua Dickson, Mamponghemaa, Nana Agyakoma Difie II and Ejisuhemaa, Nana Yaa Asantewaa II.

Also present were Nana Afrakoma Serwaa Kusi Oboadom, Agogohemaa, Nana Agyeiwaa Paamu, Tepahemaa, Nana Darkowaa Ampem Kyerewaa II and Nana Afia Afriyie Owoaberempong, Fankyenebrahemaa.

Participating schools included Bosomtwe SHS, Our Lady of Change, KNUST SHS, Kumasi Technical Institute, Kumasi Wesley Girls SHS, Prince of Peace Girls’ SHS, Yaa Asantewaa SHS, St Monica’s SHS, Adventist Girls’ SHS, Afia Kobi SHS, TI Ahmadiyya SHS and Kumasi Girls’ SHS.

The programme was held under the theme “Accelerate Action: Together we can forge women’s equality’.

Watch the event below:

Source: opemsuo.com/Hajara Fuseini