Book on feminine strengths launched

Wednesday, October 22, 2008 (Daily Graphic Pg 11)

Story: Rebecca Kwei
A BOOK titled ‘Feminine Strengths: Our Asset, Our Worth’ has been launched in Accra with a call on female students and women in general to cultivate the habit of reading.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Chamber of Mines, Ms Joyce Aryee, who made the call when she launched the book said many people had ignored one aspect of empowerment, which was reading.
She said “nothing beats reading. There is so much information out there” and encouraged students to use computers to search for information rather than playing games.
The 32-page book which was authored by Mrs Joyce Sika Twum, an educational psychologist and guidance counsellor, challenges females by identifying and celebrating 12 unnoticed female strengths.
The author in simple language uses four elements — earth, water, fire and air to describe these unique strengths that females must tap into to regain their worth.
Ms Aryee said the book would enable females to know more about themselves, adding that the sky should not be the limit for women.
“Women are on top and still rising . There is no end to what women can achieve,” she said.
Ms Aryee reiterated that female empowerment was no more a question of one sex advocating equal recognition as human beings but was now a question of equipping the female to be able to lead a meaningful life in this knowledge-based and fast moving world.
She said it was about time that the country looked for ways to derive the optimum from men and women, adding that Ghana deserved to have the best in both genders.
She said the book was not supposed to turn females into man-hating machines but to enable them to discover who they are and tap into their unique strengths in order to become the assets they have been created to be.
She encouraged heads of schools to ensure that each student had a copy of the book.
For her part, the author, Mrs Twum, said the book talks about what females are endowed with.
She said she used the symbols of earth, water, fire and air to tell females that the world could not live without them.
Mrs Twum who is also the CEO of Self Search Foundation, noted that the world perceived females in a certain way, and they had unconsciously accepted them, adding that “how you perceive yourself to a far extent determines what you would be.”
“The symbols in the book depicts assets and worth, and challenges females to look within themselves, identify with a symbol and tap into those qualities so that they can begin to shine” she said.
The acting Director of the Department of Women of the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, Francesca Pobee-Hayford, who chaired the function, said statistics showed that girls were excelling in school and becoming more assertive and confident.
The President of the Forum of Heads of Girls Senior High Schools (FOGHSHS), Mrs Sylvia Asempa, said the simplicity of the book would entice girls to read more as well as encourage them to discover themselves and the potential they had.
The CEO of Foundation for Future Leaders, Mr Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, who auctioned the book bought the first copy for GH¢500.