Dzifa Gomashie Thanks Maame Dokono and Nana Konadu for Career Boost
Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts Minister, Abla Dzifa Gomashie, has revealed the significant impact celebrated actress Maame Dokono and the late former First Lady, Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings, had on her life.
Speaking on Joy Prime’s Prime Time with George Quaye, the Minister recounted how she benefited from the guidance of these two influential women. “Maame Dokono mentored me from my early years in the arts, Faith brought me to Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings,” she stated.
She described the former First Lady as a powerful influence, adding, “May she continue to rest in peace.” Gomashie also highlighted Nana Konadu’s dedication to women’s advocacy, saying, “I have walked this journey with Nanahemaa Adowa Weandoh for years. Supporting women has always been a calling for me.”
The Minister emphasized that her fundamental values predate her entry into politics. “I was created to be bold and principled,” she explained, attributing these qualities to her upbringing as a Ga woman raised by Catholic parents in Burma Camp, where discipline, punctuality, and respect were strictly enforced.
She recalled a formative childhood experience: “I got home one day at 7:45 from an outing with my cousins. I had broken my curfew.” Her father, though not prone to physical discipline, reacted decisively. “That day, I saw him throw my checked suitcase away. That was his way of telling me I had crossed a line,” she remembered.
Gomashie fondly reflected on her early passion for the arts, stating, “I studied creative arts in secondary school” and “I was a very good dancer. The arts were my first love.”
Her time in Ethiopia, where her late husband served as Ghana’s defence attaché, also proved pivotal. She noted that living there broadened her cultural horizons and profoundly shaped her perspective on the creative sector.
A key moment in her political career came with the realization of the lack of female representation in Parliament from the southern part of the Volta Region. “I realized that in the whole of the southern part of the Volta Region, no woman had ever been to Parliament,” she said, describing the situation as “traumatizing.”
This discovery, she explained, spurred her to run for office and challenge the existing barrier. “It was traumatizing,” she reiterated. Her subsequent victory, she believes, has inspired many others to follow suit.
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
