Former Member of Parliament for Kwahu Afram Plains North, Betty Seyram Krosbi Mensah, has celebrated Ghana’s remarkable progress in women’s empowerment, describing the election of Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang as the country’s first female Vice President as a historic milestone.
Speaking on the back of International Women’s Week 2026, the National Coordinator of the National Recreation and Wellness Programme and Technical Advisor to the Minister of Sports and Recreation said women had come a long way from being viewed solely as “home managers” with no seat at the decision-making table.
“The girl child was not even given the opportunity or the right to education. The boy child was considered as the head, even when he’s the younger one. Today, the situation is not the same,” she stated.
Betty Krosbi Mensah, who served as a member of the Gender and Children Committee in the 8th Parliament, expressed pride in witnessing the drastic change, noting that women now constitute over 52% of Ghana’s population and are making significant contributions to national development.
She praised government initiatives such as the provision of free sanitary pads for girls in basic schools and the impending establishment of the Women Development Bank to provide credit facilities for women entrepreneurs.
On the need for women to be core in decision-making, Betty Seyram Mensah pointed to the free sanitary pads policy as testament to the influence of women participation in the making of policies that affect the female gender.
“There is more to do. We have a situation where the women of Ghana are doing so much. They are contributing to our development, and they are making waves. They are achieving a lot of gains. However, women have not been given the needed recognition and attention, and that is another area I want all of us to draw our attention to. It’s very easy for us to commend and praise men because they are in the majority. However, the fewer women out there are also doing incredibly well, and I think it’s about time that when a woman achieves any success, we highlight it. I’m drawing the media’s attention: Let’s highlight the input and the impact of our women so that people will see why there is a need for women to be in leadership—after all, again, through their influence and through their contribution.
“Today, we have a policy where women or young girls in our basic schools are enjoying free sanitary pads. These are unique issues that affect our gender, issues that affect women. Without their impact, without their contribution, I don’t think it would have come into being. I am particularly very proud of the women,” she said.
