Award winning Film maker Leila Djansi, has accused Ghanaians of “sexualising” sacked Deputy Communications Minister, Victoria Hammah, and, in a way, forcing her to live the “sex symbol” part in real life.
Ms Hammah was fired by President John Mahama Friday November 8, 2013, after she was heard on an ousted tape dreaming of making US$1Million while in office.
She also deplored fellow Deputy Minister Rachel Appoh as an “ugly, unintelligent, egoistic” person who needlessly fought her boss, Nana Oye Lithur, at the Gender, Children and Social Protection Ministry.
The voluptuous, broad-bottomed, pear-shaped former Deputy Minister also said on the tape that Oye Lithur may have played a role in President Mahama’s victory in the election petition case which was determined by Ghana’s Supreme Court on August 29.
She has, since her dismissal, taken tones of flak from the public, especially on social media.
Her maturity and competence have suffered waves of public bashing, especially, with the leaked tape coming on the back of an embarrassing public incident, at which she blurted out that she could not read her speech because it had, allegedly, been swapped with an unedited version.
That incident also followed a social media faux pas on her part.
She wrote on her Facebook wall that people close to her were forcing her to steal to satisfy their needs.
Among her critics is her political nemesis, Ablekuma West Member of Parliament whom she hotly contested for the Ablekuma West seat in the 2012 general elections, Ursula Owusu, who wondered if “beauty and hips” got Ms Hammah her Deputy Ministerial appointment.
Commenting on her Facebook wall about the unfolding “vikileaks” saga, Leila Djansi deplored how society puts virtually every woman’s success down to her beauty, nether part or backside.
She wrote: “As people are so quick to condemn this woman, can we please look at the man in the mirror? How can you demean a woman like this? It definitely doesn't make you any better than her. This is terrible! For many years, we have sexualized the woman. And now, for many women, operating as a sex symbol helps in getting where they need to go. Fake hair, fake boobs, fake butt, bleaching, painted face...once you have all that, you're good to go. You can achieve anything and get anywhere”.
According to her, “being a woman has nothing to do with brains anymore. Active body, active vagina and that's it! Ok, so you want boobs and backside. Victoria gave you boobs and backside and it is the very thing that’s burying her now”.
“You Ghanaians turned her into no more than that. You created her and she's living it. You couldn't shut up about her assets because your penises were getting bothered wondering who went up there and gave her position in government. You didn't get how a woman that endowed could get into government. You worried that since another penis, that is not yours, is doing the work, national money would be used to fund the sexcapades, right? That's why you guys went on daily about her and she LIVED the part. She trusted her physical assets [because] that's what you expect!! When you see a skinny woman who is not attractive, you are upset. When you see her heavily endowed, once she's not a prostitute or a back-up dancer, you assume she's brainless and you'd rather she's in bed or in the kitchen”, Leila raved.
She said: “You want the perfect woman. Not too skinny, not too fat. Light skinned, perfect back and boobs and when she does wrong, you will excuse it [because] you can quickly say she used men and her beauty to get to the top. You just want to die before you admit that a woman has brains and can get to where ever she wants by sheer hard-work and intelligence. That's why you hate to see not very attractive women in positions of power or wealth because you then have to admit she has brains [because] of course, in your little world, since she's not attractive, A MAN could NOT have slept with her and given her all she has”.
“Can we please see women as more than a piece of flesh to lay on top of? PLEASE? WOMEN, do not allow yourself to be turned into just another piece of flesh”, she advised.