Controversial media personality cum musician, Blakk Rasta has responded to a call made by the Member of Parliament (MP), Sarah Adwoa Safo for the modification of the national pledge.

According to him, Sarah Adwoa Safo lacks an understanding of the pledge and some basic principles governing poetry because if that was not the case, she wouldn’t have criticized the emphasis on fathers.

He explained that per African history, it is mostly men who go to war with some of them shedding blood in the process, hence, the reason why part of the pledge says “through the blood and toil of our forefathers.”

Speaking on the Urban Blend show monitored by GhanaWeb, Blakk Rasta stated that Sarah Adwoa Safo’s claims of the pledge being “gender-insensitive” are baseless because there's the part that reads “I promise on my honour to be faithful and loyal to Ghana my motherland” which recognizes the contribution of women as well.

"What Adwoa Safo is talking about is a mere misunderstanding of the pledge and the essence of poetry. Nobody has a problem with our motherland. But when it comes to ‘I promise to hold in high esteem our heritage won for us through the blood and toil of our fathers’ then they [women] have a problem.

“In ancient times it was only men who went to war. In one or two cases, not the norm, you would see women go to war, this is African history. Why are we joking with our history and pretending we don't know this? When the people are coming in they are looking to save women and children. Why? Because women and children are not supposed to be going to war. It is men whose blood is shed. This is poetic," he said.

Speaking in parliament after the House recited the National Pledge, marking the implementation of the new Standing Orders of Parliament, Adwoa Safo said, “Mr. Speaker, the National Pledge, it talks about ‘through the blood and toil of our fathers.’ Mr. Speaker, it omits mothers.

“Mr. Speaker, the mothers also toiled for this country. I think that it is gender-insensitive. Even when we are referring to the country, we call it our motherland, but when it comes to the pledge and we are referring to the toil, we omit that of our mothers, and I want to draw your attention to it, so we become more gender-sensitive when it comes to our national pledge.”

Her statement is her first public speech after she lost her seat in the just-ended parliamentary primaries of the NPP.

SB/BB