Former Awutu Senya East Member of Parliament and aspiring National Women’s Organiser of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mavis Hawa Koomson, has pledged to provide pepper spray to women in the party as part of measures to help them protect themselves against potential attacks.
Speaking to women delegates in a viral video ahead of the NPP’s National Delegates Conference, scheduled for Saturday, October 3, 2026, in Kumasi, Madam Koomson said women should be equipped with basic self-defence tools while also being trained on how to use them responsibly.
She argued that carrying pepper spray should not be interpreted as an encouragement for women to engage in physical confrontations, but rather as a means of protecting themselves when confronted with danger.
“In Europe, pepper spray is given out for free. It is in their bags every day when they go out. So why is it that in Ghana, when a woman is given a pepper spray, they say, ‘Go and fight’? It is for your protection. You have to protect yourself,” she said.
Madam Koomson recounted an alleged incident during the Ablekuma North rerun elections in which she said pepper spray helped save her life.
She said the experience had strengthened her conviction that women should have access to such personal safety devices.
“If it hadn’t been for the pepper spray on me, the last time in Ablekuma North, I would have been dead by now. It was the pepper spray that saved me,” she stated.
The former MP said that if elected as the NPP’s National Women’s Organiser, she would make the provision of pepper spray to women a priority while ensuring that they receive appropriate training on its use.
“I will make sure that every woman would have a pepper spray so that you will keep it with you wherever you go,” she told the group.
Madam Koomson also referred to a recent incident involving a woman who had boarded an Uber vehicle in Accra, arguing that personal safety tools could be crucial in situations where women find themselves vulnerable to attacks.
She maintained that women should be empowered to take measures to protect themselves rather than remain defenceless in potentially dangerous situations.
“Recently in Accra, a woman who boarded an Uber, if it was not for pepper spray, they would have harmed her. It was the pepper spray that saved her,” she said.
Beyond the provision of pepper spray, Madam Koomson said her proposed approach to women’s empowerment would include training in personal safety and self-defence.
She used the term “impregnable” to describe women who are equipped and prepared to protect themselves from harm.
“I beg, as for the pepper spray, I will give them to you and teach you how to be impregnable,” she said.
However, she stressed that being physically or mentally prepared to defend oneself should not be confused with being disrespectful towards others.
According to her, women can be assertive, confident and capable of defending themselves while maintaining respect for people regardless of their age or status.
“In all these, I am respectful. I respect everyone, whether old or young,” she said.
“When you are regarded as impregnable, it doesn’t mean that you are not respectful. When you are trained to be impregnable, you use it to defend yourself, but you must be respectful,” she added.
Madam Koomson is contesting for the position of NPP National Women’s Organiser as the party prepares to elect new national officers at its National Delegates Conference in Kumasi on Saturday, October 3.
Her appeal to the women especially the delegates centred on personal security, empowerment and the need for women to be equipped with practical tools to protect themselves in potentially dangerous situations.
By 1960news.com
