Mrs. Rawlings honoured for ‘women in policing’ support

The Former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agymeman-Rawlings has been honoured by the Ghana Police Service for her contributions towards women in policing in Ghana.

Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings’ contributions, when she was Ghana’s First Lady, brought about reforms in the service resulting in females who by then ended their rank at Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) to be promoted further to Commissioner just like their male counterparts.

The instrumentality of Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings also led to female police women attending United Nations (UN) missions in other countries like is being witnessed in other jurisdictions.

In view of this, the Police Ladies Association (POLAS) at the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of female policing in Ghana honoured her for her meritorious contributions to the service.

The one-month long celebration, commenced last month on the theme: “Celebrating 70 years of Female Policing in Ghana, Her Evolution and Future”.

Women in policing , which was made up of 12 women during its inception in 1952, currently has 12,454 women in the Service, constituting about 29 percent of the total strength of the Ghana Police Service.

Speaking at the 70th anniversary launch, Commissioner of Police (COP) Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah, President of the Association, said the discrimination against policewomen, including forced resignation from work in case of being married or getting pregnant, were all things of the past.

She said in the past, policewomen were allowed to marry only after serving five years after their enlistment and even with that, the prospective husbands were first interviewed.

She said in those days, in those days, they were also made to sign a bond to be of good behaviour after marriage and their marriages were certified by the regional or Circuit police commander if the husbands were civilians, something their male counterparts did not experience.

COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa Addo Danquah, the Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office, noted further that with the 1992 Constitution, female police officers now retire at the same age of 60 years as their male counterparts.

Recounting how POLAS was formed, COP Maame Yaa Tiwaa said the first female policewomen in 1952 were 12 but policing in the Gold Coast started in 183.

The POLAS president said the first 12 recruits out of which two, Rosemond Asiamah and Nana Lamptey, had the chance to guard Dr Kwame Nkrumah during his visit to Liberia, were assigned to deal with juvenile delinquency and reduction of prostitution.

They were also required to guard Fathia Nkrumah, the first lady, whilst other female policewomen were later assigned to special units, including the National Investigation Bureau and Criminal Investigation Department, where they joined their male counterparts in fighting crimes involving women and children.

Meanwhile, Commissioner of Police (COP) (Rtd) Jane Donkor, who is the first woman to become Deputy Commissioner of Police, the first woman to become Commissioner of Police and the first president of the Police Ladies Association in delivering her address, thanked the Lord for guiding them through 70 years in policing.

“From the humble beginning of us who started on September 1, 1952 (70 years ago), the service was all men and never thought about women but we believe the late Kwame Nkrumah was wise to enlist women into the service so we had the first 12 women,” she noted.

She noted that 12 women paved the way which is the reason they find themselves here, adding that, when they celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2002 all 12 were alive, but sadly when they celebrated 60 and 70 there were only three left.