International Jazz musician, Stephanie Benson has stated that female musicians in Ghana do not keep long in the industry because they are not given the chance to be who they want to be.

In an interview with Graphic Showbiz, Ms Benson stated that if these female artistes are allowed to be themselves, they would do better.

“The growth of the female artistes in the industry is stunted. These ladies are told what to do, what to wear and how to be who they are which is not good. It’s not giving them the chance to be themselves so how do we expect them to go out there and make things happen?

“Let us take how they dress, for instance, many of them are doing things that you can clearly see is not them. I have had the chance to see some of them perform and you can see what they are doing is not who they are.

“Instead of them being allowed to be themselves and do what will make them comfortable, they are pushed into a certain shell. What the industry has not realised is that they are artistes and should be allowed to be that,” she said.

“Let’s take a look at the guys; they do what they want to do, dress any how they want, some perform with their trousers down their butts and still get applause. But when a lady shows some skin, she is tagged a slut. How can they grow.? she queried.

Stephanie Benson also advised the female musicians to create music that can cross borders and enjoyed by people from all walks of life.

“Look, whatever you are doing here, you cannot do that better than the original people who brought it so why don’t you do something different from the usual? They need to broaden their horizon and do songs that can be enjoyed by everyone irrespective of where they are from,” she added.