Law, women programme promotes women's rights
There are important provisions in the 1992 Constitution that protect women and children's rights.
In addition to this, there are applicable laws such as the Domestic Violence Act and laws related to customary marriage and divorce, property rights of spouses, the Children's Act, as well as numerous international treaties, notably, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) that also promote women and children's rights.
These laws and international conventions are important tools for women empowerment, but like all tools, it will only be useful if the women know how to use it.
In Ghana, it is true that some women hold very responsible positions and respect is accorded them because they are known to be competent and efficient officers. However, for many women, the road to empowerment and development is rough because of economic and socio-cultural barriers, illiteracy and societal norms.
There is, therefore, the need for a sustained and concerted effort on the part of governmental and nongovernmental organisations, both at the local and international levels, to initiate and implement programmes that pay due attention to the cultural values and particular needs of the underprivileged to address their developmental needs.
To help tackle these problems, the Law and Women's Programme (LWP) was established in May 2010. The LWP seeks to bring women with very different backgrounds together to share their experiences of suppression and discrimination and discuss their common problems and opportunities and learn about their rights.
The founder of the organisation, Ms Mary Ohenewaa Afful, said despite the frustrations that confronted her, she resolved to set up LWP as another way of breaking the culture of silence and discrimination against women.
She said the organisation, which is concerned about the plight of women, worked to support needy, deprived, voiceless and vulnerable people, focusing on women in deprived communities who are not aware of governmental and nongovernmental institutions that help promote their rights.
Ms Afful said during her four-year stint with the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FiDA), Ghana, FiDA, she realised that women went through a lot when they were confronted with issues relating to the law and, therefore, decided to mount public education programmes to explain laws which bordered on the rights of women and children.
She said as a member of FiDA, she offered free services on matrimonial cases in line with her objective.
She also said with invitation from the Chief Justice, Mrs. Geogina Theodora Wood, she accompanied judges who went to the Nsawam Prison to sit on cases at the female section of the prisons.