Moslem Women Educated On Census

Tamale, Sept. 29, GNA - Hajia Hajara Telly, Northern Regional President of the Federation of Muslim Women in Ghana (FOMWAG), has appealed to Moslem women to do away with cultural and religious prejudices that make them resist to be counted and cooperate with the census officials in the national interest. She said some Moslem women, because of their religious or cultural values, felt embarrassed or irritated when certain questions were posed to them and also believed that when a family of five was counted one would automatically die. Hajia Telly said this at a forum organised by FOMWAG in Tamale on Wednesday to educate its members on the importance of the on-going Population and Housing Census and on the need for them to cooperate with the census enumerators to make the exercise successful. She explained to them that the census was meant for planning and development purposes and not for taxation and therefore urged them not to hesitate to declare their marital status and also disclose whether they had adopted children or had previous marriages. Mr. Thomas Azure, Northern Regional Statistician, educated the women on the vital information that would be required from them by the census enumerators and asked them to be patient.