Don’t force careers on your children - Parents told

Mr Jamil Tanimu, Programmes Officer for Actionaid Ghana, Greater Accra has urged parents not to choose careers for their children but to guide them through the process.

He said most often, parents imposed career choices on their children even though they may not have interest, temperament and intelligence for it.

“Parents must just observe their kids, pay attention to their interests and support them in any field. They shouldn’t impose on children but allow them to pursue any field of interest,” he said.

Mr Tanimu who made the comments at a Career Fair organised by ActionAid to commemorate the International Day of the Girl Child in Accra, said forcing career on children did not bring out their potential, made them unhappy, unfulfilled and affected productivity.

The theme for this year’s celebration was “Digital Generation.”

The fair brought together female facilitators with expertise in the area of architecture, painting, tiling, cinematography, cosmetology and fashion designing to inspire the female students to take up more technical related programmes of studies and motivate them to consider taking up careers in fields which had less women but were most rewarding.

Six schools in Ga South namely; Tupaa M/A, Kyekyewere M/A, Akweiman M/A, Nsuobri Methodist, Nankansu AS and Asoum M/A, participated in the event.

The Programmes Officer said, Ghanaian females were unfortunately regarded by society as useful only in childbearing, housekeeping, and other domestic-related activities, however, women had enormous potentials to contribute to every sector of Ghana’s economy.

He urged the Government and stakeholders to give more support to girl-child education especially in the area of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Mr Tanimu said Actionaid Ghana would soon organize sensitization programmes for the female facilitators to develop their capacities and skills on how to empower girls.

Mrs Diana Asante, Municipal Girls’ Education Officer, Ga South said girls faced gender-based violence such as sexual exploitation from teachers and bosses at work, and sexual harassment and gender-based violence from friends and even relatives.

She said in the event that girls were subjected to any of the crimes aforementioned, her outfit worked closely with the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Department of Social Welfare, among others to ensure that the perpetrators faced the full rigors of the Law.

Mrs Asante advised girls to be content with the little that their parents offered them and not be obsessed with luxurious things in life.

She said the obsession was what fueled promiscuous behaviour among many girls in their bid to have all their needs met.

Mr Asante also encouraged parents to empower themselves financially to take good care of their children to avoid depending on males for assistance.

Ms Doris Selassie Kamasah, Cinematographer, Photographer, Editor and Drone pilot said being a female in a male-dominated world posed challenges as they had to work twice as hard to be recognized in their respective fields. She said society considered women as “less human” and were constantly intimidated and bullied by their male counterparts.

“Also, when it comes to financial earnings, we are treated unfairly and paid less than what we actually deserve,” she said.

Ms Kamasah noted that for females to be successful in life, they had to be fearless, confident and outspoken and being a woman was not an excuse to limit oneself, but then, they should forge ahead and dare to do anything they dreamt of.

“No lady should feel they cannot accomplish anything. Many women have accomplished much. If you dream it, you can do it. Just keep learning and working hard,” she said.