GBA Compiles Women's grievances

By William Yaw Owusu .

Saturday, 03 June 2006
A book on judicial pronouncements on women’s rights, and records of women’s grievances as told in Ghanaian courts, has been launched in Accra.

Speaking at the launch, GBA president, Solomon Kwami Tetteh, called for prompt attention by law enforcement agencies and the law courts on issues relating to violation of women’s rights.

“The association holds firmly onto the view that women’s rights are human right and so such, harmful traditional practices, domestic violence, discriminatory cultural habits against them have become matters of great concern, Mr. Tetteh said.

“The bar”, he said “believes that lawyers and judges have an important role to play in the enforcement of human rights laws in Ghana”.

He said Ghana has fulfilled many of her obligations at the international level by ratifying significant instruments on women’s rights, adding that the time had come for all stakeholders to move to ensure that the rights of women were safeguarded.

The 302-page document was put together by the Ghana Legal Literacy and Resource Foundation, under the auspices of the Ghana Bar Association, with funding from the British High Commission’s small Grant Scheme.

Hajia Alima Mahama, Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs, said that the Domestic Violence Bill was receiving the needed attention in parliament.

Saying that the country has comprehensive laws to protect the rights of women and children, she lamented that weak institutional structures are however hampering efforts at making the desired impact in that direction.

She called for more documentation and research into issues affecting women and children’s rights.
Launching the book, Mr. Joe Ghartey, Attorney-General and Minister of Justice-designate, said, “we are gaining high international recognition in the way we handle women’s rights issues in this country.”

He noted that no politician or political party could succeed without the active participation of women in their activities.

Menna Rawlings, Deputy British High Commissioner, said women occupy only 16 per cent in parliaments of all developing countries.

Consequently, she said, the British government is seriously collaborating with developing countries to address the inequalities.

Mrs. Rawlings said for instance that her government last year spent 270 million pounds towards safeguarding the rights of women in the world and 152,000 pounds in promoting girl-child education in Ghana.

Professor Nii Ashie Kotei, acting Director of the Ghana Law School, who chaired the function said “if the country is to develop faster, then we need to prioritise the needs of women who form the majority”.
The first copy of the book was auctioned for ¢5million