Everyday People: I couldn’t become a soldier because my father said school is unimportant – Trader narrates

Education, they say, is key to success but not everyone is lucky enough to go through it and this is possibly the story of Madam Ama who had a dream of becoming a soldier but couldn’t have that opportunity because her father told her school was unimportant.

As a child, although she was business-minded, and still wanted to be a soldier, her father said she couldn’t attend school because it was unimportant for women to attend school.

Speaking to Victoria Kyei-Baffour on Everyday People, Madam Ama said she began selling women's scarf (duku) at age 35 and she is currently 50 years old.

She shares that she completed school in 1995 and when asked about her level of education, she said she did not remember because she couldn’t even reach the tertiary level.

“While in school, I loved to do other businesses. My mother was actually into selling so I picked up from her. I completed school in 1995, I didn’t attend any university. We wanted to go to school but those days, our fathers said it was unimportant for women to be in school but even in school, I really wanted to be a soldier but I didn’t receive any help and I lost my father during that moment and I couldn’t help it so I just had to start hustling till now,” she explained.

Madam Ama also revealed to the reporter that she has no child at her age but tries her best to help her siblings’ children, adding that she recently helped someone but the person later disrespected her.

Watch Madam Ama’s interview here: