An initiative dubbed “Beyond Kitchen Campaign” aimed at promoting social and economic empowerment of women in Ghana and beyond to better their lives has been launched in Mankessim.

It was initiated by Nana Ama Amissah, the Paramount Queenmother of Mankessim Traditional Area and President of the Central Regional Queen Mothers Association and Bishop James Obeng Nyantakyi, President of the Ecclesiastical Bishops and Leaders Conference of Africa.

The campaign would ensure effective changes in women’s mobility, social interaction, labour patterns, control over decision-making and access to and control over various resources.

Speaking at the launch, Nana Ama Amissah said the Beyond Kitchen Campaign agenda would aid the promotion of indigenous women’s self-aspiration to make their empowerment more effective.

She said ensuring gender equality called for increased women empowerment, stressing that empowering women could accelerate the economic growth and continuous development of the country.

She said empowering the indigenous Ghanaian woman was key to strengthening their participation in the decision-making process which was relevant to socio-economic growth.

In that vein, she said the campaign would target indigenous Ghanaian women and would be in their own language.

Nana Ama Amissah said there were social, cultural and family pressures on women in the country which tend to their depression and called for discussion on how cultural, traditional and social values affected women leadership so as to find lasting solutions to them.

She said such social constructions forced women to remain care givers at home, thereby lowering their career ambitions compared to men.

She encouraged women to be wake to the beam of Ambition, Self-Belief, Perseverance, Independence, Responsibility and Efforts (A-S-P-I-R-E) concept and liberate themselves from suppression by society.

The queen further admonished women to be positive and strive for self-sustenance.

“Every Ghanaian needs to change their mind towards women and every woman needs to start aiming herself Beyond the Kitchen,” she said

Bishop James Obeng Nyantakyi, explained that under the Beyond Kitchen agenda, an industrial village would be established for the training of the youth to acquire employable skills.

He said facilities at the village would include a vocational school to train school leavers in dressmaking, baking, catering and other vocations to equip them with employable skills.

He acknowledged that many social issues such as gender based violence, reproductive health inequities, economic discrimination; harmful traditional practices among others had contributed to the plight of women.

Bishop Nyantakyi challenged young women to change their primitive mindset that the ultimate goal in the life of a woman was to get married and be a mother but instead, they needed to have confidence that they have same abilities like men and could even do things better than them.

Mrs Martha Acquah, the Mfantseman Municipal Director of Education, bemoaned the falling standard of education in the Municipality and called on parents to deliver on their responsibilities.

She commended the initiators of the Beyond Kitchen Campaign and said it would go a long way to give assurance and confidence to young girls who dropped out of school due to teenage pregnancy.