The Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA) has called out musician Blakk Rasta for what it described as “discriminatory use of the Sickle Cell Disease.”
This comes after the radio presenter described the Executive Director of POWA, Victoria Hamah, as a “sickle cell brain-diseased” human being.
Over the weekend, the President of Imani Ghana, Franklin Cudjoe, shared a post on Facebook asking his followers to suggest to him what he can do to get $1 million within a short time.
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Commenting beneath the post, Blakk Rasta wrote: “Ask Victoria Lakshmi Hamah”.
This, however, did not enthuse to Ms Hamah, who threatened to sue if the comment was not deleted.
Rather than retract, Blakk Rasta allegedly used other derogatory words on the former deputy Minister for Communications in a separate post on Facebook.
The post, which has since been deleted, read: “When a former mis-fit, sickle cell brain-diseased, former $1million-dollar dreaming dishonorable Victoria Lakshimi speaks, it is laughable.”
Reacting to this, POWA condemned the radio presenter and called for his removal from air over his discriminatory comments.
The Organisation described his comments as an affront to persons living and suffering from the sickle cells disease.
Read POWA’s full statement below:
POWA Condemns Blakk Rasta for the Discriminatory use of Sickle Cells Disease as an Abusive Attack on Victoria Lakshmi Hamah and calls for his Removal from Radio
It has come to the shocking notice of the Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement (POWA) about a statement made by Blakk Rasta, a popular radio host on social media describing Victoria Lakshmi Hamah, a former Deputy Minister for Communication and the Executive Director of the Progressive Organisation for Women’s Advancement, as “sickle cell brain-diseased”.
POWA in no uncertain terms considers the discriminatory use of sickle cells disease as an abusive attack on Victoria Lakshmi Hamah by Blakk Rasta as insensitive and an affront to persons living and suffering from the sickle cells disease. His comment clearly demonstrates his overly callous and inhumane view of people living with the sickle cells disease.
According to the World Health Organisation over 4 million people globally are living with the sickle cells disease and the year 2015 recorded an estimated whopping 114,000 deaths around the world.
The devastating impact that this condition has on sufferers as well as their families is not one that should be trivialized in anyway.
POWA reiterates that all forms of discriminations are linked. An attack on sufferers of sickle cells disease is as unjustly as any form of racism, sexism, xenophobia and discrimination against persons with disabilities.
The media is a very powerful structure of our social fabric and must be used responsibly. Thus, it behooves on media personalities to act in utmost sensitivity and decorum to ensure the cohesiveness of our society.
Therefore, POWA takes serious exception to the discriminatory use of sickle cells disease as an abusive attack on Victoria Lakshmi Hamah by Blakk Rasta and therefore calls on all progressive and right-thinking Ghanaians to swiftly condemn his careless and inappropriate comment about the sickle cells disease.
Signed:
Victoria Lakshmi Hamah
Executive Director
