There are so many areas of life with varying range of perspectives of women standing up for themselves and occupying prominent positions as men. The concern of having a circular economy and the world becoming green is only alive when women rising are not thought of to be a result of men losing their holds.

Let me cease first the opportunity and honour to congratulate and celebrate the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.  She is the first woman and the first African to hold this office. She has displayed a very remarkable achievement and recommendable resilience to be emulated by many women across the world and many generations to come.

As the founder of Dash AM Foundation LBG, we stand for rural development and empowerment of rural communities with our strong edge to curb gender disparity. At our festival(ALL STAGE) held at a rural community (Aveshieve, Volta Region) in Ghana proved that the world can only be a better place when every hand is seen on board and various ideas for change are demanded rightfully from all regardless of gender. The festival dubbed “nurturing talents to inspire social change”, saw the attendance of very young women who were all out with the zeal to bring their talents on board to bring solutions to their communities, willingness to have decent jobs, promote entrepreneurship and rewrite the stories of the meaning of a man only as a brain and problem solvers of our communities. These young women displayed great talents in music, painting, tailoring with even many abstract ideas.

As a woman and the founder of Dash AM foundation, so many lives may not have been touched and impacted if not for one thing I chose to embark upon; “the choice to challenge”. To believe that the world can become a better place if no one is left behind or marginalized.

In the face of a pandemic, the strong desire to impact children and to save the world, through our Covid-19 awareness campaign in basic schools, many female teachers found hope and encouragement to know that they can do more in their own ways to make the world breath freely wherever they are. This activity did not only benefit and touched women’s lives but men as well. It is clear to say the rise of a woman gives hope and a future not only to women but to all.

When a woman and a mother becomes better and thrives, a whole household and communities are fortified as well as a positive economic outlook for a nation, which leads to a new generation of hopeful and confident men and women. The more reason why everyone must come to accept that “the rise of women is not about the fall of men.” The rise of women only beautifies and energizes the world’s diversity and inclusiveness.

Together, we look up to a tomorrow which will never marginalize women for being women, but a diversified and a progressive with women rising to “choose to challenge”.

#ChooseToChallenge #IWD2021