Corporate Communications Manager for Vivo Energy Ghana, Mrs. Shirley Tony Kum, has acknowledged society’s gradual change in perception about the value of the ‘girl-child’.
According to her Ghana and the world at large is gradually paying keen relevance to the girl-child and changing the “every girl belongs to the kitchen” public viewpoint.
In an interview with Rev Erskine on the Y Leaderboard Series hosted on Y107.9 FM’s “Myd Morning Radio Show,” Mrs. Tony Kum reiterated that much effort from various groups has contributed to the consciousness change of prioritizing girl child education.
“I think we’re all gradually paying extra attention to the topic of the girl child. In the past we all had this cultural mindset that girls’ home is the kitchen but that has changed due to the awareness created by lots of NGOs, and institutions and I think the UNDP is also championing in that regard. So I’m glad that the narrative is gradually changing,” she shared.
“There are lot of initiatives to promote the girl child education and a lot of companies are also focusing on that especially in the area of STEM which my company is also doing, (The Vivo Energy Ghana, Shell Licensee) so I think that we will get there but we also need to do more,” she added.
Her comments come at the back of the annual observation of the International Day of the Girl Child observed on October 11.
The observation supports more opportunities for girls and increases awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide based on their gender. This inequality includes areas such as access to education, nutrition, legal rights, medical care, and protection from discrimination, violence against women and forced child marriage. The celebration of the day also reflects the successful emergence of girls and young women as a distinct cohort in development policy, programming, campaigning and research.
Mrs. Shirley Tony Kum is an award-winning Communication Specialist with experience in media relations, communication strategy and plans development, public participation, communication research, internal communication, events management and traditional communication.
By: Jude Tackie
