Home makers and keepers, weaker vessels, brides to be, among others are mostly the tags that are used to identify women/ girls. These tags seems most ideal for aspect of society, if not majority.
Until recently, most women/ girls have been made to accept these tags and live by it. Right from childhood to adulthood, it’s been drummed into the minds of women/ girls- that the woman’s/ girl’s place is the home or the lower level positions in situations where they dared to enter the workforce.
In commemoration of International Women’s Day, ARHR organized a skills workshop for 20 young girls between the ages of 12-19 years who are in the Ashiedu Keteke Sub-Metro district in the Greater Accra Region. The selection of these young girls was imperative because it is at these formative years during adolescence that perceptions, ideologies, identities, among others are built and firmly grounded. It is much easier during these period of their growth to instill in them enviable and acceptable mindsets, perceptions, ideologies and identities which challenges the negative status quo.
It is of utmost value to engage these young girls during this period and empower them with skills that will enable them to build the better tomorrow which we all aspire for. A tomorrow where they can speak up and about; dream and make their dreams a reality. A tomorrow where they can choose to be anything they want to be; barring any form of stereotype. A tomorrow where they can climb up on the corporate/ business ladder; without fear of any negative tag.
The half day programme gave these young girls the confidence to aspire towards their life dreams, regardless of the boundaries they may face. Using sessions led by an experienced adolescent trainer, Mr Francis Oko Armah, as well as public speaking, writing and group activities, these girls were motivated and equipped to be their absolute best.
They were trained on how to overcome obstacles as young girls in our world today and also how to be confident and set achievable goals.
The topics honed these girls with four of WHO’s 10 Essential Life Skills, namely self-awareness, effective communication, creative thinking and critical thinking.
Participants were broken into teams and scenarios shared with them to elicit their actions in those situations. After few minutes of brainstorming, these teams came up with ideal solutions in those situations; exhibiting their appreciation of what they were trained on.