Woman Scream 2023 | Accra

On the 5th March 2023 the Woman Scream Festival 2023 the city of Accra, Ghana, held their event at a cosy location D’Lloyds Pub, Adenta who were sponsors of the event (giving us their location for free). The event started with the introduction of what the event was about and the co-ordinator, Mariska Taylor-Darko read from the manifesto by Jael Uribe speaking about women and the land, women without voices and without protection and women who lost their lives for speaking out against injustice. The event is to be held in March every year in celebration of International Women’s Day.

The warm-up speaker was Ishmael Junourgh, an author and journalist who spoke about the plight of women in the Northern, Savannah, Upper West and Upper Eastern regions of the country who were marginalised with no rights, no voices and no chance of education. Their whole lives were ruled by local traditions that kept women in second place to become cattle herders, wives and mothers. When they grew old and widowed they were considered bad luck and at times driven out of their villages. (It was noted that women from rich families did not suffer this fate). The opportunities came only when they moved to the southern sectors of the country or if they had parents who saw the value of educating the girl child. Other performers were Charlotte Mensah, Edward Kyei Mensah, Yunusah Essandoh, Penelope Prempeh, Isaac O. Obeng, Azags Agandaah, Osman Abraham Lincoln, Noelani Pierce, and Kwabena Danso (Jahwi a poet and a musician). Poems focused on women, the environment, and the plight of the girl child.

Ishmael Junourgh and the Co-ordinator also informed the gathering that they were involved in a project in the Upper West Region of Ghana to set up a library for the children, especially the girls who had no facilities to study after their chores of looking after cattle, siblings and helping the family to raise smaller children. The plan is to have the library as a safe place for them to go to also get a good start in educational opportunities. Retired teachers would be engaged to run the library which would be free for the users. Jahwi played some songs about the destruction of mother earth and a good time was had by all. The message was well received.

Extract from the main speaker Ishmael Journourg at the Woman Scream - Accra event

"Last Sunday I had a rare opportunity to deliver a talk on the plight of the northern woman at the launch of "Mother of the Earth" in Ghana at the D'lloyd pub at Adenta in Accra! The program was organized by the country director of the international advocacy group Woman Scream, Mariska Araba Taylor. Thank you, Mariska, for the confidence reposed in me.

My talk cut across the impact of climate change on women in the north, harmful sociocultural systems still persistent in pocket sizes across the north, myths (witchcraft) that have led to stereotyping of the northern woman, and lack of political will to deal with the predicaments of the beautiful northern woman. Also, I took a stint at the need to stimulate and mentor the average northern woman and girl out of the box and make them daring and not dreaming after only civil service jobs. The northern woman is not only beautiful but talented and they should be leveraging on their calling in life, and stop taking jobs (hand to mouth) that have helped perpetuate poverty in the area over centuries. The northern ancestor, time immemorial, were largely security personnel, errand runners, menial job seekers, and plantation workers in the south and coastal areas since the Gold Coast days. It is now time for the northern woman to shine..."

The Woman Scream Festival 2023 (Grito de Mujer ), in its thirteenth edition was under the slogan "Mother of the Earth", paid tribute to rural women and women activists who have lost their lives or suffered violence defending environment's rights. This year, and since 2022, the festival is part of the initiatives of UN Women's Generation Equality, for the eradication of violence and its international chain, and was celebrated from March 1 to 31, with over two hundred cultural events in 28 countries.

Poems