By Seraphine Nyuiemedi
The Volta Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe has advised Ghanaian men to support their wives with cooking and other house chores to relieve them of excessive stress. She said the call is not to switch gender roles, but to help change the narrative that men do not belong in the kitchen.
She also urged spouses to be appreciative of each other when being offered such assistance. Mrs. Kpe said this when the Volta Regional Department of Gender organized a Males Cook Art competition and Durbar to create awareness on the misconceptions about Gender Roles and women Empowerment to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.
The competition was between the Volta Ghana Journalists Association, Volta Regional Department of Children, Action Aid’s Activista Volta, An advocacy group ENE Empower, Legal Aid Commission and the Volta Regional Department of Agriculture.
The contestants prepared a variety of dishes such as rice balls (omotuo) with groundnut soup, akple with ademe soup, Coconut jollof rice and turmeric rice among others.
This year’s International Women’s Day celebration was on the theme: “Gender Equality Today for a Sustainable Tomorrow” with a campaign message #BreakTheBias.
The Volta Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe said the event was to draw attention to the stress women go through to prepare meals for the family and also to encourage men to offer their support.
The Volta Regional Department of Children emerged winners of the competition with Action Aid’s Activista Volta and Volta chapter of the Ghana Journalists Association placing second and third respectively.