El-Wak Tragedy: Gender Minister calls for gender-sensitive approach in future recruitments

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, has called on the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) to take gender differences into account during future recruitment exercises following the tragic deaths of six young women at El-Wak Stadium. Speaking during a visit to victims of the stampede on Thursday, November 14, the Minister said the incident highlighted the need for security institutions to adopt a more gender-sensitive approach in their operations. “I was telling the senior female officers that even in this day and age, when there’s so much awareness of gender issues, we still have challenges when it comes to recruitment and employment,” she said. The Minister urged the military to draw lessons from the experience and make the necessary changes to protect applicants, especially women, during future recruitment drives. “I was encouraging them that based on the experiences they’ve had, they should lessen the walk through these military processes and recruitment for their upcoming ones,” she said. She said that gender considerations must become a key part of all national processes. “It is about time that in every facet of our lives, we look at it from a gender perspective or put on a gender lens to view everything,” she said. The Minister noted that although both men and women participated in the recruitment exercise, the women suffered the most. “You realise that most people were there, but the most affected sex is the female sex, and you ask yourself why, because even though we are all human beings, our biological makeups are different.” Madam Lartey added that acknowledging these differences is not about inequality but about fairness and safety. “Inasmuch as we want to say that everybody is the same, we want that gender consideration to be given to women where it matters most,” she said.