Brigitte Dzogbenuku, the 2020 presidential candidate of the Progressive People’s Party, has taken a dig at the Methodist Church and its role in preventing Muslim students in Wesley Girls’ High School from fasting during Ramadan.
Speaking on The Big Issue on Citi TV/FM, Mrs. Dzogbenuku, an alum of Wesley Girls’ High School, suggested that the Methodist Church was putting the school in a bad light.
“This is a bunch of men in leadership taking decisions for an all-girls school headed by a woman,” she said.
In her view, “there is no doubt there must be some intimidation” of Wesley Girls’ High School from the Methodist Church because “there is a lot of ego at play.”
“Methodist church especially, let’s stop this show of power… we are human beings, and we need to be humble,” she instead advised.
The Cape Coast school had been directed by the Ghana Education Service to allow the Muslim students to partake in the fast, but the Methodist Church stepped in to say the school would not heed the directive.
The Parent-Teacher Association of Wesley Girls’ High School also justified the decision by the school not to allow Muslim students to partake in the Ramadan fast.
Mrs. Dzogbenuku said this back and forth was “putting us [Wesley Girls’ High School] in a difficult position.”
Moving forward, she said the school’s management must be allowed to deliberate and resolve the issue.
“Let us run our school as we know. We have had Muslim students there before… if we sit down, we can come to a decision on how to tackle this problem.”
The Wesley Girls’ High School Old Girls’ Association has also backed the restrictions on Muslim students but Mrs. Dzogbenuku said her colleague alumnus were being insular on the issue.
She also reiterated the importance of prioritising the welfare of the students.
“We are looking at it with tunnel vision. Let’s be broad-minded about it… We must actually accept at some point and say maybe were are not looking at this as broadly as we have to.”
“It is not about winning an argument. It is about what is happening on the ground and affecting the lives of certain people.”
