Nana Konadu Mobbed

Former First Lady and President of the 31st December Women’s Movement, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings last Saturday received a rousing welcome when she traveled to Mepe in the South Tongu Constituency of the Volta Region, to inaugurate a branch of the 31st December Women’s Movement.

The inauguration ceremony, which was organized to revive the Movement in that part of the country, rather took an unexpected twist when in a spontaneous response, the people of the area on getting wind that Nana Konadu was on her way to Mepe, turned the whole activity into an unexpected mammoth party rally. Thousands of supporters and sympathizers of the NDC took advantage of Nana Konadu’s presence in the area to also revitalize the party in the area. Many party faithful wondered why the Rawlingses were yet to hit the campaign trail.

Under normal circumstances, during the Movement’s activities, where the former First Lady is present, the slogan heard is “Embaa! Embaa!” with its response “Ye gyena ho pentin!”, which literally means “Women! Women! We are standing firm and not sitting!” Paradoxically, at Mepe, the Movement’s slogan was rather over-shadowed by deafening choruses of the NDC slogan “Eye Zu” “Eye Za” and “Prof. Mills, A Better Man for A Better Ghana!” Nana did not disappoint. On several occasions she joined the townsfolk in various versions of the agbadja dance amidst wild cheers.

Nana told a durbar of chiefs and people of Mepe that the 31st December Women’s Movement was borne out of a desire to get women to be recognized as part of national development.

The Movement she noted emanated as a result of the revolution that came to stop the rot. Women wanted to be part of that change and not just observers hence the movement’s establishment.

“We wanted to be part of the change taking place in Ghana. Issues that were peculiar to women were not being tackled so we established the movement with the four UN principles of developing women politically, economically, culturally and socially as the yardstick.”

She accused the NPP government of putting impediments in all projects initiated by the movement, particularly educational projects. She said such projects had brought enlightenment to womenfolk and wondered what the NPP was afraid of. “If they are interested in the forward march of the country they will not try to stop us,” she added.

“We are tired of selfish governments. We need a selfless government that cares and runs the country with a human face,” she concluded.

A leading member of the movement, Hanna Louis Bisiw said followers of the NDC have to assert themselves and be proud of the P/NDC because the party gave women great opportunities.

She said the concept of feeder roads and rural developmental projects were a hallmark of the P/NDC regime but the current government was doing everything in its power to downplay those achievements.

Nana Konadu paid a courtesy call on the Queen of Mepe Traditional area, Mama Awusi Sreku III before inspecting fish smoking projects undertaken by the movement as part of job creation for unemployed women.

In attendance were Members of Parliament, Hon. Joe Gidisu, MP for Central Tongu, and Hon. Charles Hodogbe, MP for North Tongu, as well as some delegates who had arrived from Hamburg, Germany including the Chairperson of the Hamburg Branch of the Party, Madam Vida Addae.