Girls encouraged to aspire for top positions in Armed Forces
Captain Agornyo addressing students of Chemu Senior High School
A Group Captain in the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Theodora Agornyo, has expressed her dream to see females rise to become heads of the institution.
According to her, there were equal opportunities for both men and women, so women, especially, should dismiss the perception that the top hierarchy in the armed forces was a preserve for men.
Addressing students of the Chemu Senior High School (SHS) in Tema at a programme to encourage more females to join the GAF and aspire to be in key leadership positions, the Gender Advisor to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of GAF said she could not wait to see young ladies get to the top.
The programme, a nationwide schools campaign was organised by the Women, Youth, Peace and Security Institute (WYPSI) of the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in partnership with the GAF.
It was aimed at creating opportunities for women in the military and increasing their participation in United Nations Peacekeeping operations.
She asked the young girls to take advantage of GAF’s policy of gender equality to enroll with the service.
Group Captain Agornyo said no woman should see herself as only capable of taking up traditional female roles such as cooking, or clerical duties but must strive to go into areas such as engineering, intelligence gathering among others.
She urged them to take up combat roles and lead troupes whether in the country or outside the country and be recognised at decision making levels.
The Greater Accra Project Team Lead for the KAIPTC, Irene Elorm Hatsu-Fiebor said students who wished to become personnel of the GAF should be conscious about their career choices.
She advised the female students to eschew negative comments aimed at discouraging them from achieving their aims and rather be focused.
The campaign which is an initiative with funding from the Elsie Initiative Fund of Canada, aligns with the Government of Ghana’s commitment to the Elsie Initiative for women in Peace Operations, a global effort to empower women in Peacekeeping roles.
From Dzifa Tetteh Tay, Tema
