The 18th International Congress on Women’s Health Issues (ICOWHI) with the theme: “International Cities and Women’s Health: Global Perspective”, this year was hosted by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia with the help of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and, the Penn institute for urban. 

The conference funded by the Rockefeller foundation, the E-commons,and the Penns Urban Women’s Health Collaborative Forum was to forge and discuss the most pressing issues facing women in urban environment  the Taylor and Francis Abstract Award, which was under the category Human Rights, Women’s Right and Justice: Fostering Health in Urban Settings.

Among the issues surrounding the global urban development, women and their health are the most compromised due to gender inequities, and lack of awareness among urban developers and policy makers of the unique needs of the urban women. Urban women face health issues such as breast cancer, obesity, hypertension, osteoarthritis, diabetes and depression, which are often exacerbated by air, water and land pollution; sedentary lifestyles and diminished space and opportunities for physical activity, traffic accidents, exposure to stress and violence, and limited access to healthy and fresh foods. Women also play critical roles in our societies as mothers, providers, leaders, care givers and volunteers, that give them an exponentially powerful role in guiding not only their own but the health of their children, their families and their communities.  

A lecturer at KNUST, Dr. Francess Dufie Azumah, presented two papers, one of which won the Taylor and Francis Abstract Ward. The Award winning paper was titled “Gender and Cultural based violence and widowhood rituals in Ghana and its effects on women’s reproductive health rights”. The other paper titled “The effects of pre-pregnancy and postpartum food/nutritional taboos and traditions on women’s reproductive health in Ghana”: A case study of the Kumasi Metropolitan area all gained remarkable prominence at the conference.

The award winning oral presentation sought to ask questions as to what extent widowhood rites and the performance of these practices violate the rights of women and affect their health, and whether, women as victims realize that as a form of cultural based violence.

The topic provided exploratory combination of quantitative and qualitative   research methods conducted in Kumasi with a population of 1,517,000. The study revealed varied types of widowhood rites according to ethnic groups irrespective of the women’s educational, political and health status. Her findings revealed that some of the mourning rites including seclusion, shaving of all hairs of the body and that of her  and the smearing of pepper all over their body were that these dehumanizing practices however most of the victims did not see it as a form of violence nor violating their human rights but a way to honour their late spouse and prove and prove their innocence.

Essentially, Dr. Azumah has brought honour and dignity to the University that must be applauded. Other lecturers are also encouraged to excel in the international community to enhance the corporate image and reputation of the University.