Day: July 5, 2023

They are seen as sturdy, muscular, and a threat to masculinity when they walk the streets of Ghana.

Seeing Ghanaian women with brawn and muscles bothers a section of the population. Still, these ladies are determined to change the narrative irrespective of how emasculated men might feel or how disgusted some women might feel.

“When my body started transforming because it was so new to people, I always covered my body. But now, I wear my booty shorts, I wear my sleeveless and walk around. I mean people are going to stare and I will make it worth their while, like yeah, you should stare. This is me, and this is who I am. I love me, and I have accepted who I am, and it’s something I’m doing intentionally,” Mary Nyarko Omale, a professional bodybuilder in Ghana, told DW.

The sport of bodybuilding has been thriving in Ghana for decades, primarily among men. It is common to see men lifting dumbbells and doing pushups on the streets and in gyms.

When women participate, disparaging looks and remarks are meted out to demoralize them. But there are ways for them to compete, with the most popular competition being the Arnold Classic International in South Africa.

Bodybuilding takes a mental toll

Given the numerous hurdles and societal backlash, few Ghanaian women have taken the initiative to pursue the sport professionally. For those brave enough, it hasn’t been a walk in the park as their mental health bears the brunt of constant scrutiny.

“In Ghana, everyone has a perception about you putting on muscles as a woman and from my side, it was quite a struggle. I grew up feeling intimidated by friends and some women who would tell me to work on having curvier hips and stop building muscles,” Victoria Agbeyeye, a former bodybuilder now turned weightlifter, told DW.

“Most of the ladies who come to my gym train for health purposes,” said Daniel Budu, former head judge of the Ghana Bodybuilding and Fitness Association. Now an owner of the Jordan Gym in Tema, outside Accra, Budu has seen the number of women bodybuilders increase since the late ’70s when his venture began.

Doris Nartey, the current holder of the title of Ghana’s Strongest Woman, had no interest in pursuing bodybuilding until her coach, Coach Kwame, convinced her to try it.

“Initially, I wasn’t interested in hearing what my coach had to say about the sport, but how he saw potential in me convinced me. Even after I said yes, it took me some time to adjust,” said Nartey.

“There were some unpleasant comments about me when I began, but when I hear them, it is my coach I speak to. He tells me not to focus on what outsiders say, and that, for me, is enough.”

The gym becomes their friend when facing challenges in all aspects of life. On the flip side, however, they don’t focus solely on the negatives; their support system makes them feel empowered, and their mindset is focused on positively impacting other women like themselves. Quitting is not an option.

“My mom, my daughter, my loved one, and my coach have been my support and inspiration,” said Agbeyeye, who calls on the positive energy of a different kind to help her strive. “Normally, I pray to God to give me the mental strength when my body cannot push me anymore.”

Funding remains a challenge for female bodybuilders

As a profession, more funding is needed to support the level of competition. Most female bodybuilders work different jobs — primarily as fitness instructors — to fund their dreams. Sometimes they go to competitions once a year and, in dry seasons, attend none.

In 2022, the competition for the title of Ghana’s Strongest Woman was launched by Media General as a way to support female bodybuilders and give them a bigger platform. A trial edition was held a year prior, and Nyarko, Nartey, and Agbeyeye all took part. Nyarko won the trial edition, while Nartey and Agbeyeye came in first and second in the inaugural competition.

Nartey used the prize money to pay her final year’s school fees and other expenses. “For me, I’m so grateful to my gym. They push me a lot. Sometimes I feel like crying, but they always push me, and my coach advised me to do what I can do and not get hurt. So I focused more on the fun aspect than the actual prize,” said Nartey.

Agbeyeye moved to Accra from the Volta Region to start a new life; the prize money was a good start for her, but it wasn’t enough.

“There is little to no sponsorship. Most of the financing comes from me,” said Nyarko. “It is not easy, and I need a lot of sponsorship to make my dream a reality. Getting a visa and all the travel expenses is a whole lot of challenges.”

Odikro Berima, a promoter who coaches Nartey, told DW that self-funding bodybuilding programs are an investment for him. “If you are in the business of bodybuilding to be a promoter, you should be able to take the money from your own coffers to elevate the stage before big sponsors hop on.”

Coaches play a key role

When speaking with female bodybuilders in Ghana, their stories showed a noticeable similarity: a coach who helped train them, provided emotional support and funded some of their activities.

But Albert, who trains Agbeyeye, said it can be challenging given how these women have been forced to stand up for themselves. “You know ladies come with a lot of attitude,” he explained. “So sometimes they question you when you instruct them to do something because they don’t like being commanded. You just have to know who you are dealing with, and what not to say.”

Although coaching is grounded in teaching, Coach Kwame revealed working with Nartey has taught him much about himself and his career. “Doris is my first female athlete, and I have learned a lot because it has been the most challenging thing that has happened to me yet,” he said.

While those involved still face everyday challenges, the glass ceiling is starting to crack. Women walking the streets in Ghana with muscles and pursuing a bodybuilding career used to be unheard of. Now, as Ghana’s ground-breaking women look to establish themselves, their resilience is speaking volumes.

Source: Deutsche Welle

Workers of Airport Women’s Hospital has organized a special donation exercise for the National Blood Service.

The one-day exercise was also to provide the base for patients of the hospital to have easy access to blood in times of emergency, especially for pregnant women and newborn babies.

In all over 30 workers and volunteers donated blood to the national blood bank.

The exercise was in partnership with National Blood Service, Zipline Ghana Limited and EandE Medical Center.

Miss. Audrey Acheampong Public Relations and Marketing Manager of Airport Women’s Hospital, the exercise was the initiative of the workers as part of their contribution to the hospital.

She noted that, the gesture was to ensure that women and children are saved in times of emergency adding that, there was no excuse for women and children to die as a result of a shortage of blood.

“It is unacceptable for people to die as a result of a shortage of blood in this modern era, hence the need to provide blood for future use,” Mrs Acheampong added.

Women and children have the right to live, hence the need to prepare for eventualities at the hospital.

“With this exercise, we are convinced that women and children would be saved not only at the hospital but across the nation,” she said.

According to Miss Achemapong, they were looking forward to having periodic blood donation to support the exercise.

Source: Ghana Web

Former Black Stars skipper Stephen ’Tornado’ Appiah has revealed how he wept uncontrollably when the corpse of his late dad was sent to Chorkor for the last time as part of burial rites.

Appiah was born in Accra, Chorkor where he started playing on the streets of the Ga community together with friends including former Hearts of Oak star Edmund Copson.

According to the former Ghanaian international, he had always bragged to his wife that he was not going to cry when someone close to him died but when the body of his late dad arrived at their house in Chorkor, he broke down in tears as it reminded him of the struggles of his family.

“We picked the body from the mortuary and brought it home in Chorkor and by then I had already run my mouth to my wife that I don’t understand why people cry so much when people pass on”, he told JoySports.

“I said okay for me I will feel bad, and shed tears but I won’t cry as others cry. So, when the body arrived in Chorkor, a lot of people came and I was standing in front of our house and then suddenly I began to cry and I couldn’t hold myself. I was there with Laryea Kingston and his wife and when we left for the church, my wife said Stephen I told you, you think you are hard but you are not”.

Appiah who was the first captain to qualify Ghana for the World Cup in Germany, in 2006, added that he used to sleep in cars with friends and did menial jobs to survive.

Appiah, 42, played for Ghana’s U17 and U20 before making his debut for the Black Stars in 1995 and retired in 2010 after the World Cup in South Africa, where capped 67 times for the Black Stars and scored 14 times.

He enjoyed a larger part of his European success playing in the Italian Serie A where he featured for Udinese, Parma, Brescia, Juventus, Cesena, and Bologna while he also spent three years with Turkish giants Fenerbache from 2005 to 2008.

Source: Ghana Web

A private legal practioner, Martin Kpebu has raised concerns over the perceived hypocrisy in the ongoing prosecution of Gyakye Quayson, the Member of Parliament for Assin North, concerning his alleged breach of the dual citizenship law.

Kpebu’s remarks come as MP the Assin North, James Gyakye Quayson, is facing a criminal trial in court even after several calls for the Attorney General to file a nolle prosequi to discontinue the case.

According to him, the trial of the Gyakye Quayson is happening at a time when there is a bill in parliament that when passed will repel the law that addresses the issues of persons with dual citizenship and contesting to be members of parliament in the country.

Highlighting the potential contradictions, Kpebu questioned the public interest in prosecuting Quayson while Parliament simultaneously seeks to repeal the law barring dual citizens from contesting elections.

“The hypocrisy is just too much. What is the public interest in prosecuting Gyakye Quayson. Where is the public interest? Right now as we speak, in parliament itself there is a bill where they are seeking to repeal the constitution on dual citizenship no dual citizens contesting to become MPs. So what situation are we creating,” he said.

Kpebu drew attention to a bill currently before Parliament, supported by the government, which seeks to repeal the law barring dual citizens from holding parliamentary seats.

This contradiction between the ongoing legal proceedings against Quayson and the proposed legislative change has left many questioning the coherence of the nation’s actions.

“We have a situation where there is a bail before parliament and the government is supporting the bill that we should repel the law that prohibits dual citizens from becoming MPs. We are taking the constitution and then you go into the people representation law, PNDC law 284.

“So we are in the process of repealing the law and at the same time we are in the process of a person who allegedly breaches that law. The optics are very very bad, we look very confused as a nation when we go into such activities. It’s like we take two steps forward and then we take four steps back. How can you keep the two, Martin Kpebu asked.

Source: Ghana Web