Ghana Army Woos Female Students To Enlist In Combat And Combat Support Units
- The Ghana Armed Forces says it wants to encourage more women to join its combat and combat support units
- It said that is the only pathway for women to enter the upper echelons of leadership in the Forces
- Currently, majority of female recruits end up in the service support units like nursing, administrative work, etc.
The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) are on a mission to recruit as many women as possible into combat and combat-supporting units.
The population of women in those units of the Ghana Armed Forces is staggeringly low as most women prefer to enlist in service support roles, including nursing, kitchen field and store field.
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According to Colonel Elvis Asamoah, the Gender Adviser at the General Headquarters of the International Peace Support Operations, the situation needs to be remedied.
He said the phenomenon is essentially to blame for women's absence from the top echelons of the Ghana Armed Forces, as combat and combat support units are the only way women can gain leadership roles.
This comes as the GAF looks to rebrand its male-dominated leadership structure by placing women in key positions.
To encourage future women to enlist in combat and combat support units, the Ghana Armed Forces has embarked on a nationwide school campaign to encourage female students in Senior High Schools and tertiary institutions to enlist upon completion.
Col Asamoah said the GAF is speaking to female students, parents, teachers and guardians and is collaborating with the Ghana Education Service to inspire female students to enlist in the units.
He stressed that in the GAF, there is no gender discrimination, so women should not expect to be limited in their capacity.
He said this at a forum with Wa Senior High School students as part of their nationwide tour to promote gender mainstreaming in the military.
Col Asamoah heads a three-member team from GAF and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), which is expected to take the campaign to eight SHS and tertiary institutions in the region.
The female students were urged to study hard and score good grades to gain admission into the tertiary institutions and complete to join the GAF.
The campaign is being implemented by the Ghana Armed Forces and the Women Youth, Peace and Security Institute (WYPSI) of the KAIPTC with funding from the Elsie Initiative Fund of Canada.
Ghanaian peacekeeper honoured
YEN.com.gh reported that Captain Cecilia Erzuah, a vibrant Ghanaian peacekeeper, has been named United Nations Military Gender Advocate of the Year 2022.
The award honours a military peacekeeper who promotes the principles of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security.
She will be honoured by Secretary-General António Guterres during a ceremony on Thursday, May 25, 2023.
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Source: YEN.com.gh
