Mrs Rebecca Naa Okaikor Akufo-Addo has retained the First Lady title once again on the backdrop of the New Patriotic Party’s victory in the December 7 elections, and the beautiful investiture of Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, her husband, as the Fifth President of the Fourth Republic. The 69-year old First Lady relentlessly stood by her husband, through thick and thin, till he ascended the highest seat of governance in 2017, for the first term, and in 2021 for the second term. Her contributions to the general wellbeing of humanity, particularly women and children, cannot go unnoticed. Over the past four years, Mrs Akufo-Addo has been married to a man whose heart beats for his nation. In a message titled: “Dear Ghana,” which she posted on her Facebook wall just before the 2020 General election, described the last four years as humbling. “I wake up every morning, adjusting to this charge…

The Minister for Social Action, Family and Woman Promotion, Faustina Alves, Wednesday in Luanda, called for greater participation for “ladies” in actions aimed at resolving conflicts in society. Speaking at the closing of a round table on women’s participation in peacekeeping and conflict resolution processes, the Government official stressed that the presence of women in this field is generally unknown so that they are not called to the negotiating tables. She recalled that the UN Security Council adopted in 2000 its historic resolution 1325 on Women and Security, where for the first time it referred to their distinct experiences and contributions in the context of peace and security, which allowed for some gender integration and visibility in the field of pacification. The official reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to the participation of women in the prevention, development and implementation of national action plans. The meeting addressed, among others, issues related to…

Egypt’s cabinet has toughened a law banning female genital mutilation (FGM) – imposing jail terms of up to 20 years as part of efforts to stamp out the ancient practice. Nearly 90% of Egyptian women and girls aged between 15 and 49 have undergone FGM, according to a 2016 survey by the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the ritual is practised widely by both Muslims and Christians despite the 2008 ban. Amendments to the FGM law approved by the cabinet on Wednesday include hiking the maximum sentence from the current seven years and banning doctors and other medical staff involved in FGM from practising their profession for up to five years. Under the changes, prison terms of between five and 20 years will be recommended depending on who performed the surgery and whether it caused permanent damage or death, a government statement said. The person requesting FGM will also face…

Plans are underway by the National Productivity Centre (NPC) to develop specific programmes aimed at boosting the productivity of women in their various endeavours. The Director-General of the Centre, Dr Kashim Akor, who stated this in Lokoja, Kogi State, at the decoration of Yahaya Bello, governor of Kogi State as an ambassador by the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), explained that conversations that equip individuals and build the capacity of organizations with the requisite knowledge, tools and techniques for working smart and continuous improvement are of utmost interest to the NPC. He added that the Centre would collaborate with the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) to design cutting edge programmes that would target improving the productivity of women in their chosen fields of endeavour. “To this end, we shall continue our collaboration with the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) to design and implement cutting-edge programmes aimed…

Ms Ann Kananu Mwenda becomes the third woman to take the reins of a deputy governor after 2017 General Election. The Nairobi City county deputy governor, therefore, comes 10th in the list of incumbent deputy governors after Dr Caroline Wanjiru Karugu of Nyeri who took an oath of office in 2018 and Dr Joyce Wanjiku Ngugi who took the leadership in Kiambu County, last year. Since 2017, five governors, including one female, have exited office either through death or impeachment. Governors John Nyagarama (Nyamira), Wahome Gakuru (Nyeri) and Dr Joyce Laboso died while in office. While Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu) and Mike Sonko (Nairobi) were impeached. Of the four counties – Nyeri, Nyamira, Bomet and Kiambu – only two incoming governors opted for female deputy governors. In Nairobi, Ms Mwenda had been nominated by Mr Sonko before his impeachment. In the 2017 General Election, only seven women became deputy governors including…