According to the United Nations statistics, women actually perform 53 percent of all economic activities in developing countries, whereas men are credited with performing three quarters of the work.
The 1995 UN Human Development Report, (UNHDR) states that “an estimated $16 trillion in global output is currently invisible, of which $11 trillion is estimated to be produced by women.
It states that women in Africa represent 52 per cent of the total population, contribute approximately 75 percent of the agricultural work, and produce 60 to 80 percent of the food. Yet, they earn only 10 percent of African incomes and own just one per cent of the continent’s assets.
No doubt they face tremendous challenges to achieving gender equality. Majority of women in the developing world are still relegated to micro enterprises and informal economic activities.The impact of women in Ghana cannot be underestimated.
They form over 52% of the country’s population. Despite gains in some areas, gender inequalities continue to limit women’s ability to participate in and contribute to the growth of the economy. The main economic activity for women in the rural areas of Ghana in pre-colonial times was agricultural production and that hasn’t changed.
Those along the coast sold fish caught by men. But many of the financial benefits from their commercial activities went into the upkeep of the household.Even though the Education Act of 1960 expanded and required elementary education, some parents were reluctant to send their daughters to school because they were needed at home and on the farm.
It was common knowledge that the woman’s place is the kitchen and so many girls dropped after the elementary level. A national census in 1984 revealed the ratio of male to female registration in elementary schools was 55:45, with the percentage of girls dropping at the secondary level.
Also 17% of them were registered at the universities in the same year. In spite of this, Ghanaian women have been able to rise to top professional positions. However, gender issues have pushed women into female-stereotyped careers such as secretarial, nursing, teaching and dressmaking professions. Only few are in sciences, engineering, and management.
Some are employed in the same line of work as men and paid equal wages and granted maternity leave with pay. For those with little or no education living in the urban centres, trading is the main economic activity.
Women work longer hours than men when unpaid household work is accounted for.
Women have relatively poor access to and control of, agricultural inputs, including land, fertilizer, machinery, and labor.
Often, they have limited access to family labour and lack the resources to hire labour for farming and other economic activities.
In addition, their time constraints make it difficult for them to benefit from skills training, health programmes and other development activities.
Women have less access to credit from formal channels than men do according to a Ghana Living Standard Survey, (GLSS 1993). Lack of collateral increases women’s difficulty in getting as much credit as they need from formal sources.
Despite these setbacks, women in Ghana are economically active. Engaging in such activities enables them to meet their current needs and invest in the future.
But their success in business activities is constrained by cultural, educational, and economic barriers.
Working to remove these barriers will boost business for Ghanaian women, and for Ghana.Women are the ones who suffer most in the deplorable living conditions in slum areas and often excluded from the planning and implementation of water supply and sanitation programmes.
A Ghana Living Standards Survey, (GLSS 1993) revealed that the incidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, (AIDS) were three times higher among women than men.
Ghana is party to several international conventions which require her to guarantee women’s right to housing, equality, education, decision making and health care among others.
This is perhaps; the reason the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana was launched to identify key national issues of concern to women and urge policy makers and relevant agencies to address them.
It states the need for an alternative approach to promote sustainable and equitable economic development for women and men.
“This new approach needs to recognize the importance of mobilizing local productive resources, promoting and guaranteeing security in livelihoods and upholding democratic principles.” According to the manifesto, economic policy must be based on equality in economic opportunities and rewards, and would need to start from the household level, since that is where women perform unpaid labour.
It states that the unpaid labour involves repetitive and time consuming tasks such as collecting fuel wood, fetching water, childcare, sweeping, garbage disposal and cooking as well as the reproduction of social relations in the household or the community. “Ghanaian women spend more than two times as much the time on domestic as men.
The issue of housework is critical because it defines women’s subordinate position in social relations and affects their work in the wider economy,” it explains.
The women manifesto bemoans that even in the formal sector of the economy, with its better established norms of minimum labour rights and protections, women suffer disadvantages in spite of existing labour laws and Ghana’s ratification of International Labour Organisation, (ILO) Conventions on women.
It demands among others that government undertake fundamental review of economic policies to promote the well-being and security of women and men and ensure a reversal of past economic policy failures.
“That government reverses practices which have given control of national economic decision making to the international financial institutions and foreign governments and to ensure the full participation of citizens in economic policy making.”
It stress that the executive, legislature, the Ministry of Manpower, Youth and Employment, TUC, SSNIT and employers should ensure that social security arrangements are put in place to cover all working women and men in the formal and informal sectors in rural and urban areas by the year 2015.
Increased income controlled by women gives them self confidence.
Women who control their own income tend to have fewer children, and fertility rate is inversely related to national income growth.Research has shown that women are more likely to reinvest profits back into human capital than are men.
When women have economic power they gain more equality and control over their own lives, while contributing directly to their children’s development in terms of nutrition, health and education.
Several studies have indicated that unless women’s economic security is strengthened, regions, particularly Africa, will not be able to eliminate poverty, achieve gender equality, or realize any genuine progress on the UN’s stated Millennium Development Goals.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Councils of Labour joins campaign against sale of ADB
The Accra and Tema District Council of Labour, (A&TDCL) of the Ghana Trades Union Congress, (TUC) has re-affirmed its opposition to government’s intended sale of the Bank of Ghana’s shares in the Agricultural Development Bank to Stanbic Bank in Ghana, a subsidiary of Standard Bank of Africa.
The council added its voice to calls on government to rather raise enough capital as is being done by government institutions such as Ghana Commercial Bank and Ghana Oil Company, (GOIL) to ensure growth of ADB to boost agriculture. Stanbic initially put in a proposal to acquire the 48% of BOG shares in ADB.
Currently sources say that it is also working to secure the remaining 52% shares owned by the government of Ghana.A&TDCL held a demonstration in Accra to register their protest during which resolutions were presented to the Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning and Manpower, Youth and Employment and the mother union TUC.
Since the fuss over the intended government action began, some government ministers, including the Senior Minister, Mr. J.H. Mensah have come out to defend the intended sale of ADB.
But the A&TDCL maintains that, “ADB is not just a bank but a development bank established with the sole objective of providing credit facilities to farmers. Since then ADB has carried out its mandate satisfactorily in spite of the risks involved in financial intermediation in the agricultural sector.”
It stressed that although the BOG may be operationally independent, it remains a state institution whose assets also belong to the state.
“We reaffirm the position of Ghana TUC that the fortunes of agricultural credit should not be entrusted into the hands of a foreign private bank which is essentially motivated by its desire for profit. We are firmly convinced that a nationally owned and controlled ADB is important for the appropriate financial intermediation in the agricultural sector.”
The Chairman of the TDCL, Mr. Wilson Agana addressing the gathering declared, “Posterity will judge us if we do not act well. Now Ghana is buying food products from Cote D’Ivoire. ADB must remain to assist farmers; if not it would be a disaster.”
He hoped the resolution would receive a positive response from government unlike previous ones.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC in Charge of Operations, Mr. Kofi Asamoah noted that previous actions by governments to dispose off national assets did not benefit Ghana and that agriculture which is an important sector of the economy should not be left in the hands of foreigners.
“Government should listen because if bad policies are taken the citizenry suffer. It is our duty as workers to ensure that decisions that affect us negatively are avoided.”
The proposal by Stanbic Bank of South Africa to buy the controlling BOG shares in ADB has generated public debate. The workers of ADB, TUC, some political parties and civil society organisations are leading the fight.
The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) in a statement on Monday 27, August 2007, called on government and the BoG to take a second look at the formulae for the off-loading of the Bank of Ghana’s controlling shares of 48 per cent in ADB. ISODEC said in spite of the fact that ADB over the years concentrated on Money transfer business, about 60 percent of its investment went to support the agricultural sector.
“ISODEC is convinced that the national interest will be greatly compromised if ADB, the fourth leading bank in Ghana, controlling 60 per cent of all lending to the agricultural sector and whose performance has remained strong in spite of its continued support to the rather high risk agricultural sector is sold to a so-called strategic investor without due consideration of proposed alternative arrangements that keep the bank in the hands of Ghanaians.”
ISODEC expressed the view that the financial sector was an important vestige of the national sovereignty that must not be handed over to what it described as private investors.
The programmes Coordinator of ISODEC Mr. Emmanuel Kuyole in an interview with Public Agenda suggested that like the case of the Commercial Bank, government can float the shares of ADB on the Ghanaian stock market whereby workers can also acquire shares in the bank.
Currently, there are media reports of government’s determination to conclude the sale of the BoG shares in ADB before the end of the year.
The council added its voice to calls on government to rather raise enough capital as is being done by government institutions such as Ghana Commercial Bank and Ghana Oil Company, (GOIL) to ensure growth of ADB to boost agriculture. Stanbic initially put in a proposal to acquire the 48% of BOG shares in ADB.
Currently sources say that it is also working to secure the remaining 52% shares owned by the government of Ghana.A&TDCL held a demonstration in Accra to register their protest during which resolutions were presented to the Ministers of Finance and Economic Planning and Manpower, Youth and Employment and the mother union TUC.
Since the fuss over the intended government action began, some government ministers, including the Senior Minister, Mr. J.H. Mensah have come out to defend the intended sale of ADB.
But the A&TDCL maintains that, “ADB is not just a bank but a development bank established with the sole objective of providing credit facilities to farmers. Since then ADB has carried out its mandate satisfactorily in spite of the risks involved in financial intermediation in the agricultural sector.”
It stressed that although the BOG may be operationally independent, it remains a state institution whose assets also belong to the state.
“We reaffirm the position of Ghana TUC that the fortunes of agricultural credit should not be entrusted into the hands of a foreign private bank which is essentially motivated by its desire for profit. We are firmly convinced that a nationally owned and controlled ADB is important for the appropriate financial intermediation in the agricultural sector.”
The Chairman of the TDCL, Mr. Wilson Agana addressing the gathering declared, “Posterity will judge us if we do not act well. Now Ghana is buying food products from Cote D’Ivoire. ADB must remain to assist farmers; if not it would be a disaster.”
He hoped the resolution would receive a positive response from government unlike previous ones.
The Deputy Secretary-General of the TUC in Charge of Operations, Mr. Kofi Asamoah noted that previous actions by governments to dispose off national assets did not benefit Ghana and that agriculture which is an important sector of the economy should not be left in the hands of foreigners.
“Government should listen because if bad policies are taken the citizenry suffer. It is our duty as workers to ensure that decisions that affect us negatively are avoided.”
The proposal by Stanbic Bank of South Africa to buy the controlling BOG shares in ADB has generated public debate. The workers of ADB, TUC, some political parties and civil society organisations are leading the fight.
The Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC) in a statement on Monday 27, August 2007, called on government and the BoG to take a second look at the formulae for the off-loading of the Bank of Ghana’s controlling shares of 48 per cent in ADB. ISODEC said in spite of the fact that ADB over the years concentrated on Money transfer business, about 60 percent of its investment went to support the agricultural sector.
“ISODEC is convinced that the national interest will be greatly compromised if ADB, the fourth leading bank in Ghana, controlling 60 per cent of all lending to the agricultural sector and whose performance has remained strong in spite of its continued support to the rather high risk agricultural sector is sold to a so-called strategic investor without due consideration of proposed alternative arrangements that keep the bank in the hands of Ghanaians.”
ISODEC expressed the view that the financial sector was an important vestige of the national sovereignty that must not be handed over to what it described as private investors.
The programmes Coordinator of ISODEC Mr. Emmanuel Kuyole in an interview with Public Agenda suggested that like the case of the Commercial Bank, government can float the shares of ADB on the Ghanaian stock market whereby workers can also acquire shares in the bank.
Currently, there are media reports of government’s determination to conclude the sale of the BoG shares in ADB before the end of the year.
Women and Media
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) recognizes media’s role in facilitating the freedom of expression and opinion.
It states: “Everyone has the right to the freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.”
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW) addressed all forms of discrimination that occur within public and private spheres of women’s lives.
Specifically, it prohibits any form of sex role stereotyping and prejudice, exploitation and prostitution of women, and discrimination in public and political life, education and employment.
Also, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, (BPFA) section on Women and Media provides the roadmap for women’s advancement through women’s access and participation to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of speech and expression, including the right to freedom of the press and other media, the right to information and the establishment of the independent National Media Commission (NMC).
Analysts believe however that quantity has not necessarily been matched with quality.The BPFA gave an overview of problems and issues surrounding women and the media and spelt out specific strategies for governments, media and non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors.
It called for: a) women’s increased participation in and access to media and new information and communication technologies (ICTs); b) promotion of a balanced and non-stereotyped representation of women in the media.
Four years later, Women Watch, an initiative of the United Nations to assess progress and obstacles on BPFA held an online-discussion, which concluded that there have been few improvements in media portrayal of women both in advertising and news coverage.
It noted that women and media monitoring groups have made some contributions in promoting positive images and role of women in media.
The internet for instance allows women groups to set up their own web pages and networks more effectively.
It is also a source of women’s denigration and exploitation, as demonstrated by the exploitation of Ghanaian women on pornographic web sites currently.
Programmes such as ‘Maa Nkomo’, a gender talk show on GTV educates women on health and other social issues.
Apart this, there are few gender sensitive programmes on radio. The media landscape in Ghana is, particularly the print media highly competitive.
This has been heightened by the newspaper reviews on the electronic media every morning, where the catchy political headlines become the topic for discussion. Little attention is devoted gender sensitive stories.
Worldwide statistics by the International Women’s Media Foundation, 2001 (IWMF) on women working within the media states that the overall number of female journalists employed in the media around the world has decreased by 2 percent in the last five years.
Today women constitute 41 percent of working journalists. In the 1995 report by Margaret Gallagher for UNESCO, women were not a significant part of the media workforce.
In Africa, women are 8 percent of broadcasting managers and 14 percent of managers in the print media.
A majority (nearly 60 percent) of the female journalists from around the world who responded to a 1997 IWMF survey said that not even one out of 10 decision-makers in their companies were women. The figure was even higher, 79 percent for respondents from Asia.
In spite of women’s immense contributions to the development of democracy, the media in Ghana continue to marginalize women’s concerns and issues. Research has shown that a liberalized media environment with its commercial pressures often produces news and programmes that do not empower women or promote gender equity. Women are often portrayed in the media by their sex and sexuality.
The media has become a leading source of information about sex and sexuality to teenagers, especially females. But these images do not give people realistic and healthy views of sex and sexuality.
Only few of references to sex on TV include any reference to abstinence from sex, birth control, risk of pregnancy, or sexually transmitted diseases. Obviously girls bear the risk of pregnancy and are also more likely to contract STDs than boys, states the American Academy of Pediatrics, (AAP) “Sexuality, Contraception and the Media, 2001.
Some studies show that repeated sexual content in the media may influence teens to have sex earlier. In Ghana , there is an upsurge of foreign (Mexican telenovelas/soap operas) by the media, by TV stations which are beginning to influence female dressing greatly. T
hey put on all kinds of dresses that expose their vital parts hitherto covered by traditional / cultural (local) outfits. When men are shown in videos, they are most often fully clothed.
But when women are shown, half the time they are dressed in ways that expose or focus on their breasts and rear ends.
Little wonder that the Ghanaian female has become the icon of musical videos. Certain images in the media depict that female sexuality is related to exchanging sex for money. In advertising, women’s bodies are used to sell products more often than men.
Through the media tattooing, eye lash and nail extension, make-up application, pedicure and manicure etc. have whipped the appetite of most Ghanaian females, who consider them ‘western’ / modern.
Women seen most often in the media are fashion models, singers and actresses, and recently politicians. Females also get the chance in the media when they fall victim to abuses such as rape, incest and assault.
The potential exists for the media to make a far greater contribution to the advancement of women. Even though women are involved in careers in the communications sector, few have attained positions at the decision-making level.
This has contributed to the failure to eliminate the gender-based stereotyping found in the media. In Ghana, women make up less than 20% of the formal workforce and less than 10% of top management in the media.
Thus, the media like other institutions are male dominated. A recent media study on categories of issues covered by the media in Ghana from January 2006 to December the same year saw gender at 10th position with the number of stories at 1281, representing approximately 2.01%.As usual politics topped the list of stories covered by the private Ghanaian media with the figure at 12404 and 19.42%. The Centre for Media Analysis and Research, (CMAR) conducted the study.
The Women’s Manifesto for Ghana is a political document that identifies key national issues of concern to women and calls on policy makers and relevant agencies to address them.
It relates the media’s performance to the ways in which governments inform citizens to enable them participate in decision-making and how governments respond to issues of concern raised by and about the media.
“For democracy to function not only do women need adequate information to make choices at the ballot box but they also need to make decisions about their lives and to monitor and evaluate government policies and actions.”
It adds, “Yet information gaps persist between women’s civil society organisations and government agencies including the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, and between government organisation and the media.”
The Women’s Manifesto demands among others that government formulate and adopt comprehensive communication and information policy that would address issues of denigrating media representation and content and clarify issues relating to access, control and information flow.
“The government, through parliament must pass into law a gender-responsive Freedom of Information Bill to enhance access to information and ultimately benefit women and the marginalized in society.”
It stress that government strengthen the institutions set up to regulate media content by providing adequate human and financial resources to enable them perform their functions in a manner which does not jeopardize press freedom ,while promoting the goals of gender sensitivity and fairness.
In spite of the perceived negative development in the media Ghana, the industry is one of the most vibrant. There are a lot of non-political issues all around us. T
he media must look out for the impact policies make on the marginalized or the less privileged in society, particularly women.
It states: “Everyone has the right to the freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media, regardless of frontiers.”
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, (CEDAW) addressed all forms of discrimination that occur within public and private spheres of women’s lives.
Specifically, it prohibits any form of sex role stereotyping and prejudice, exploitation and prostitution of women, and discrimination in public and political life, education and employment.
Also, the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, (BPFA) section on Women and Media provides the roadmap for women’s advancement through women’s access and participation to expression and decision-making in and through the media and new technologies of communication.
The 1992 Constitution of Ghana guarantees freedom of speech and expression, including the right to freedom of the press and other media, the right to information and the establishment of the independent National Media Commission (NMC).
Analysts believe however that quantity has not necessarily been matched with quality.The BPFA gave an overview of problems and issues surrounding women and the media and spelt out specific strategies for governments, media and non-governmental organizations and other civil society actors.
It called for: a) women’s increased participation in and access to media and new information and communication technologies (ICTs); b) promotion of a balanced and non-stereotyped representation of women in the media.
Four years later, Women Watch, an initiative of the United Nations to assess progress and obstacles on BPFA held an online-discussion, which concluded that there have been few improvements in media portrayal of women both in advertising and news coverage.
It noted that women and media monitoring groups have made some contributions in promoting positive images and role of women in media.
The internet for instance allows women groups to set up their own web pages and networks more effectively.
It is also a source of women’s denigration and exploitation, as demonstrated by the exploitation of Ghanaian women on pornographic web sites currently.
Programmes such as ‘Maa Nkomo’, a gender talk show on GTV educates women on health and other social issues.
Apart this, there are few gender sensitive programmes on radio. The media landscape in Ghana is, particularly the print media highly competitive.
This has been heightened by the newspaper reviews on the electronic media every morning, where the catchy political headlines become the topic for discussion. Little attention is devoted gender sensitive stories.
Worldwide statistics by the International Women’s Media Foundation, 2001 (IWMF) on women working within the media states that the overall number of female journalists employed in the media around the world has decreased by 2 percent in the last five years.
Today women constitute 41 percent of working journalists. In the 1995 report by Margaret Gallagher for UNESCO, women were not a significant part of the media workforce.
In Africa, women are 8 percent of broadcasting managers and 14 percent of managers in the print media.
A majority (nearly 60 percent) of the female journalists from around the world who responded to a 1997 IWMF survey said that not even one out of 10 decision-makers in their companies were women. The figure was even higher, 79 percent for respondents from Asia.
In spite of women’s immense contributions to the development of democracy, the media in Ghana continue to marginalize women’s concerns and issues. Research has shown that a liberalized media environment with its commercial pressures often produces news and programmes that do not empower women or promote gender equity. Women are often portrayed in the media by their sex and sexuality.
The media has become a leading source of information about sex and sexuality to teenagers, especially females. But these images do not give people realistic and healthy views of sex and sexuality.
Only few of references to sex on TV include any reference to abstinence from sex, birth control, risk of pregnancy, or sexually transmitted diseases. Obviously girls bear the risk of pregnancy and are also more likely to contract STDs than boys, states the American Academy of Pediatrics, (AAP) “Sexuality, Contraception and the Media, 2001.
Some studies show that repeated sexual content in the media may influence teens to have sex earlier. In Ghana , there is an upsurge of foreign (Mexican telenovelas/soap operas) by the media, by TV stations which are beginning to influence female dressing greatly. T
hey put on all kinds of dresses that expose their vital parts hitherto covered by traditional / cultural (local) outfits. When men are shown in videos, they are most often fully clothed.
But when women are shown, half the time they are dressed in ways that expose or focus on their breasts and rear ends.
Little wonder that the Ghanaian female has become the icon of musical videos. Certain images in the media depict that female sexuality is related to exchanging sex for money. In advertising, women’s bodies are used to sell products more often than men.
Through the media tattooing, eye lash and nail extension, make-up application, pedicure and manicure etc. have whipped the appetite of most Ghanaian females, who consider them ‘western’ / modern.
Women seen most often in the media are fashion models, singers and actresses, and recently politicians. Females also get the chance in the media when they fall victim to abuses such as rape, incest and assault.
The potential exists for the media to make a far greater contribution to the advancement of women. Even though women are involved in careers in the communications sector, few have attained positions at the decision-making level.
This has contributed to the failure to eliminate the gender-based stereotyping found in the media. In Ghana, women make up less than 20% of the formal workforce and less than 10% of top management in the media.
Thus, the media like other institutions are male dominated. A recent media study on categories of issues covered by the media in Ghana from January 2006 to December the same year saw gender at 10th position with the number of stories at 1281, representing approximately 2.01%.As usual politics topped the list of stories covered by the private Ghanaian media with the figure at 12404 and 19.42%. The Centre for Media Analysis and Research, (CMAR) conducted the study.
The Women’s Manifesto for Ghana is a political document that identifies key national issues of concern to women and calls on policy makers and relevant agencies to address them.
It relates the media’s performance to the ways in which governments inform citizens to enable them participate in decision-making and how governments respond to issues of concern raised by and about the media.
“For democracy to function not only do women need adequate information to make choices at the ballot box but they also need to make decisions about their lives and to monitor and evaluate government policies and actions.”
It adds, “Yet information gaps persist between women’s civil society organisations and government agencies including the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs, and between government organisation and the media.”
The Women’s Manifesto demands among others that government formulate and adopt comprehensive communication and information policy that would address issues of denigrating media representation and content and clarify issues relating to access, control and information flow.
“The government, through parliament must pass into law a gender-responsive Freedom of Information Bill to enhance access to information and ultimately benefit women and the marginalized in society.”
It stress that government strengthen the institutions set up to regulate media content by providing adequate human and financial resources to enable them perform their functions in a manner which does not jeopardize press freedom ,while promoting the goals of gender sensitivity and fairness.
In spite of the perceived negative development in the media Ghana, the industry is one of the most vibrant. There are a lot of non-political issues all around us. T
he media must look out for the impact policies make on the marginalized or the less privileged in society, particularly women.
Women’s manifesto wants affirmative action on women’s participation in politics
Members of Coalition on the Women’s Manifesto for Ghana, (WMC) have recommended that government formulate an affirmative action policy to promote women’s participation in politics.
The group said instead of government allowing individual women to take their political destiny into their own hands, there should be a policy to ensure that women gain easier access to the district assemblies and Parliament.
At a press conference in Accra to mark the 3rd Anniversary of the launch of the WMC for Ghana, Hamida Harrison, WMC Convenor reiterated their demand that all political parties should promote affirmative action to progressively increase the number of female candidates for parliamentary elections.
The anniversary was under the theme, “Three Years On: Moving the Agenda.”
Ms Hamida stressed, “The political parties should ensure that by 2008 there will be at least 50% representation of women in party executive and other decision-making structures.”
She noted that until gender parity is achieved, women accepted as parliamentary and district assembly candidates should be supported financially from a special independent fund created by the government in the year 2005.
The Women Manifesto is a political document that identifies key national issues of concern to women and calls on policy makers and relevant agencies to address them.
It tackles issues ranging from women’s inability to access equal national resources critical for decent livelihoods, low participation in governance processes, women’s predominance among the poor to women’s health, particularly the unacceptably high rate of maternal mortality.
The Executive Director, Women’s Initiative for Self- Empowerment (WISE), Mrs. Adwoa Bame said the government must ensure that by the 2008, 50 percent appointees to district assemblies, district chief executives and district co-ordinating directors are women.
“We want to make sure that by 2008 at least 50 percent of appointees to public offices, such as boards of corporations and institutions and the higher echelons of bureaucracies are women,” she stated.
She said the government should institute measures which promote shared responsibilities of life for both women and men as a means of creating balance in family and work responsibilities, thus facilitating women’s active participation in public life.
Mrs. Bame noted that although the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRSI) which did not address gender issues systematically has been reviewed, its impact of improved livelihood of women remains to be seen.
According to her, female farmers are among the poorest of the poor in country, receiving little or no remuneration and support, while contributing in no small measure to feeding their households and the rest of the country.
“Women do the bulk of housework and related functions without adequate social support in the form of child support, day care centres and labor saving devices,” she said.
She argued that with the current population of the country being dominated by women, there should be a reflection in the total representation in parliament and district assemblies, public and private sectors and in corporate organisations.
Mrs. Bame lauded the appointment of several women as Deputy Ministers, saying it is a good beginning, but added that care must be taken not to create a new ghetto for female participation in government.
“We further applaud the appointment of a female Chief Justice, the increase in the number of women District Chief Executives and lady Ministers of State with special reference to the “injury time” ministerial appointments by the government,” Mrs. Bame said.
She emphasized that this year’s celebration of the women’s manifesto is dedicated to all outstanding and unresolved issues addressed in the manifesto but especially on the issues of women’s representation in the political process having in mind the upcoming elections in 2008.
“On the occasion of our 3rd anniversary we re-affirm our commitment to advocating for gender equality and national development, especially intensifying advocacy on the implementation of the manifesto which demands obstacles in getting women to file their nominations and be voted into public office be removed.”
She called on both women and men to support women candidates who file their nominations for political office and urged them to do away with traditional prejudices, beliefs and perceptions that support gender discrimination.
The Executive Director, Advocates for Gender Equity (AGE), Mrs. Elizabeth Akpalu, observed that under a human rights framework, governments have a primary responsibility for establishing equitable laws and systems that allow women and men to exercise and enjoy their rights under the protection of legal system.
She said in spite of the many policy recommendations that have been arrived at different at fora from local, national, regional and the international levels, it is obvious that the fight to eradicate poverty is far from being won.
According to her, available data from Social Watch Report of 2006 indicate that a disturbingly high proportion of countries will not attain the objectives of the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) which is to reduce the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty by half between 1990 and 2015.
Mrs. Akpalu stated that every decision the government takes should include women because they have the right to make decisions and also contribute their quota to the development of the nation.
Other concerns of the women manifesto are the harmful and discriminatory social practices against women often justified in the name of culture, violence against women as well as the special problem of the disabled, widowed, aged women and single mothers and issues of personal insecurity, dislocations and violence experienced by women in conflict situations.
The group said instead of government allowing individual women to take their political destiny into their own hands, there should be a policy to ensure that women gain easier access to the district assemblies and Parliament.
At a press conference in Accra to mark the 3rd Anniversary of the launch of the WMC for Ghana, Hamida Harrison, WMC Convenor reiterated their demand that all political parties should promote affirmative action to progressively increase the number of female candidates for parliamentary elections.
The anniversary was under the theme, “Three Years On: Moving the Agenda.”
Ms Hamida stressed, “The political parties should ensure that by 2008 there will be at least 50% representation of women in party executive and other decision-making structures.”
She noted that until gender parity is achieved, women accepted as parliamentary and district assembly candidates should be supported financially from a special independent fund created by the government in the year 2005.
The Women Manifesto is a political document that identifies key national issues of concern to women and calls on policy makers and relevant agencies to address them.
It tackles issues ranging from women’s inability to access equal national resources critical for decent livelihoods, low participation in governance processes, women’s predominance among the poor to women’s health, particularly the unacceptably high rate of maternal mortality.
The Executive Director, Women’s Initiative for Self- Empowerment (WISE), Mrs. Adwoa Bame said the government must ensure that by the 2008, 50 percent appointees to district assemblies, district chief executives and district co-ordinating directors are women.
“We want to make sure that by 2008 at least 50 percent of appointees to public offices, such as boards of corporations and institutions and the higher echelons of bureaucracies are women,” she stated.
She said the government should institute measures which promote shared responsibilities of life for both women and men as a means of creating balance in family and work responsibilities, thus facilitating women’s active participation in public life.
Mrs. Bame noted that although the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRSI) which did not address gender issues systematically has been reviewed, its impact of improved livelihood of women remains to be seen.
According to her, female farmers are among the poorest of the poor in country, receiving little or no remuneration and support, while contributing in no small measure to feeding their households and the rest of the country.
“Women do the bulk of housework and related functions without adequate social support in the form of child support, day care centres and labor saving devices,” she said.
She argued that with the current population of the country being dominated by women, there should be a reflection in the total representation in parliament and district assemblies, public and private sectors and in corporate organisations.
Mrs. Bame lauded the appointment of several women as Deputy Ministers, saying it is a good beginning, but added that care must be taken not to create a new ghetto for female participation in government.
“We further applaud the appointment of a female Chief Justice, the increase in the number of women District Chief Executives and lady Ministers of State with special reference to the “injury time” ministerial appointments by the government,” Mrs. Bame said.
She emphasized that this year’s celebration of the women’s manifesto is dedicated to all outstanding and unresolved issues addressed in the manifesto but especially on the issues of women’s representation in the political process having in mind the upcoming elections in 2008.
“On the occasion of our 3rd anniversary we re-affirm our commitment to advocating for gender equality and national development, especially intensifying advocacy on the implementation of the manifesto which demands obstacles in getting women to file their nominations and be voted into public office be removed.”
She called on both women and men to support women candidates who file their nominations for political office and urged them to do away with traditional prejudices, beliefs and perceptions that support gender discrimination.
The Executive Director, Advocates for Gender Equity (AGE), Mrs. Elizabeth Akpalu, observed that under a human rights framework, governments have a primary responsibility for establishing equitable laws and systems that allow women and men to exercise and enjoy their rights under the protection of legal system.
She said in spite of the many policy recommendations that have been arrived at different at fora from local, national, regional and the international levels, it is obvious that the fight to eradicate poverty is far from being won.
According to her, available data from Social Watch Report of 2006 indicate that a disturbingly high proportion of countries will not attain the objectives of the first Millennium Development Goal (MDG) which is to reduce the percentage of the population living in extreme poverty by half between 1990 and 2015.
Mrs. Akpalu stated that every decision the government takes should include women because they have the right to make decisions and also contribute their quota to the development of the nation.
Other concerns of the women manifesto are the harmful and discriminatory social practices against women often justified in the name of culture, violence against women as well as the special problem of the disabled, widowed, aged women and single mothers and issues of personal insecurity, dislocations and violence experienced by women in conflict situations.
Female prisoners increase
Women originally constituted a small number of the prison population in most countries. They usually form between 2% and 8%. But their number is said to be growing at a disproportionate rate.
This has raised concerns about their needs and human rights as prisons are traditionally designed for males.
Consequently, prisons tend not to meet the needs of women prisoners.A research by the Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva, in 2003 and published in July 2005 on women in prison, sought to better understand why the number of women being imprisoned are increasing.
It also tried to identify the conditions under which women prisoners are kept worldwide in a bid to draw attention to the particular impact that imprisonment has on women compared to men.
The report revealed that female prison population has increased dramatically in the last ten years and the rate greater than that of men.
In eight countries, women comprise more than one in ten prisoners.The report attributed the scenario to the increased use of imprisonment to punish offences that were previously punished by non-custodial sentences, such as those in relation to drug offences and non-violent theft.
A lot of women are in prison for assault between rivals. Women are mostly vulnerable of detention because of their inability to pay fines for petty offences due to poverty.
Usually, they are young, unemployed, have low levels of education and have dependent children.Many are reported to have histories of alcohol and substance abuse.
A high proportion of women offenders have experienced violence or sexual abuse. According to the Coalition of Prison Evangelists International, (COPE), Ghana, there are 45 facilities run by the Ghana Prison Service.
In year 2003, cumulative imprison of inmates was 4, 028,870 with an average daily lockup of 10,677.
The total convict population was 7,850 covering about 7500 male and 257 female. Out of the 10,677 in daily lockup some 2,813 were on remand (jail). Average daily juvenile lockup was about 140 cumulative monthly and annual lockups was between 4,200 and 51,000 respectively.
Altogether, 80 percent were first offenders, 15 percent 2nd offenders, and 4.8 percent recidivists, (criminals who continue to commit crimes even after they have been punished).
Major offenses included stealing, assault, murder, robbery, narcotic, manslaughter, fraud, threat or death, unlawful entry, causing harm, causing damage, conspiracy, rape and defilement. Offenders range from 18-65 years of age.
Imprisonment impacts on women differently than on men since they have different needs. This includes health (sexual and reproductive health). In some countries, women may be pregnant and may give birth in prison.
They are vulnerable to abuse in prison and suffer from very high rates of mental illness. These issues are often overlooked by penal institutions, governments, policy makers and by the international community.
Consideration therefore needs to be given to every aspect of women’s prison systems. However, problems such as overcrowding, poor hygiene, and inadequate visiting facilities affect both men and women prisoners.
A Ghana Country Report on Human Rights Practices released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, (USA) in March 8, 2006 showed that overcrowding in prisons contributes to a high prevalence of communicable diseases.
The report said most women in prison are mothers. The imprisonment of a woman who is a mother can lead to a violation not only of her rights but also the rights of her children. Medical facilities are inadequate.
In Ghana, the law stipulates that regardless of the offense, female convicts should be tested for pregnancy upon imprisonment, and that pregnant convicts should be held in a facility where their health needs could be met. When a mother is imprisoned, her baby may go into prison with her or be separated from her and left on the ‘outside’.
Both situations can put the child at risk.
As the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa stated, “Prisons are not a safe place for pregnant women, babies and young children and it is not advisable to separate babies and young children from their mother” The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were adopted by the First UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1955, and approved by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1957.
They remain the key point of reference in designing and evaluating prison conditions. Since then, the needs and nature of prison populations have changed and further international guidelines concerning imprisonment have been developed.
Two of the most important international standards for imprisonment are the 1988 Body of principles for the Protection of All Persons under any form of Detention or Imprisonment and the 1990 Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the UN General Assembly.
All these instruments, affirm that all prisoners must be treated with respect for their human dignity with regard to the conditions of their detention.
They reinforce the idea that the purpose of imprisonment is rehabilitation of the prisoner. By the Prisons Service Decree NRCD 46, the Ghana Prison Service is charged with the responsibility of ensuring safe Custody, welfare, rehabilitation and reformation of prisoners.
The concept of rehabilitation involves providing assistance to enable an offender to adopt a life style which is different from the old unproductive / criminal one.
Thus during a period of incarceration inmates are thought new trade amongst others. However, in Ghana there is hardly any rehabilitative programme for prisoners.
Rehabilitation centres do not exist in most of Ghana’s facilities. Existing workshops are not equipped to attain the desired result on the rehabilitation of inmates.
A greater percentage of inmates had no formal education before their incarceration.
In view of this, the Ghana Prisons Service, (GPS) is collaborating with COPE GHANA to reform, rehabilitate and reintegrate convicts and ex-convicts into the society.Concerns are raised about the youthful uneducated inmates who are serving between 2 and 20 years.
Further provisions have been agreed to address detention of children, namely the 1985 Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice and the 1990 Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.
However, these rules and principles contain only a handful of provisions specifically directed to women prisoners.
There is growing concern regarding the rights and treatment of women prisoners, at national, regional and international levels.
A range of international fora have emphasized the need to review prison systems and the norms and standards regarding imprisonment with women’s needs in mind.
Women with babies or young children in prison with them are often precluded from participating in education, training or work programmes because there are no childcare facilities.Even a short prison term has a particularly harsh effect on women, in causing intense family disruption.
Most women who are imprisoned are mothers and they are far more likely to be single parents than male prisoners.
A woman living an in insecured or rented accommodation will usually lose this when she enters prison. Women face more discrimination after release from prison.
Such women who have been in prison are particularly stigmatized.The International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council (ISPAC) to the UN Criminal Justice Programme decided at its biennial meeting in December 2005 to adopt a Friends World Committee for Consultation, (FWCC), Quakers proposal for a project on women in prison.
FWCC therefore calls for a full exploration of all aspects of discrimination against women and girls in the Sub-Commission Study on discrimination in the justice system.
The ISPAC project should raise the profile of the issue in the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
In light of the lack of attention usually given to women in prison by the international community, it is worth highlighting the consideration that the UN human rights treaty bodies have given to the subject.Women who are pregnant whilst in prison have particular health and nutrition needs.
The rights of both mothers and babies need to be considered in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and post-natal care in prison.
The presumption should be that babies should remain with their mothers unless there are compelling reasons for separating them.
The inextricable link between anxiety and stress in the mother and the physical and emotional well being of the baby needs to be recognized and addressed.What rights does a child have if his mother is detained or imprisoned?
Little attention has been given to this subject, despite the profound and permanent impact. Applying the Convention on the Rights of the Child to such situations would lead to some clear conclusions about children’s rights to be considered when decisions are made about their parents.
This has raised concerns about their needs and human rights as prisons are traditionally designed for males.
Consequently, prisons tend not to meet the needs of women prisoners.A research by the Quaker United Nations Office, Geneva, in 2003 and published in July 2005 on women in prison, sought to better understand why the number of women being imprisoned are increasing.
It also tried to identify the conditions under which women prisoners are kept worldwide in a bid to draw attention to the particular impact that imprisonment has on women compared to men.
The report revealed that female prison population has increased dramatically in the last ten years and the rate greater than that of men.
In eight countries, women comprise more than one in ten prisoners.The report attributed the scenario to the increased use of imprisonment to punish offences that were previously punished by non-custodial sentences, such as those in relation to drug offences and non-violent theft.
A lot of women are in prison for assault between rivals. Women are mostly vulnerable of detention because of their inability to pay fines for petty offences due to poverty.
Usually, they are young, unemployed, have low levels of education and have dependent children.Many are reported to have histories of alcohol and substance abuse.
A high proportion of women offenders have experienced violence or sexual abuse. According to the Coalition of Prison Evangelists International, (COPE), Ghana, there are 45 facilities run by the Ghana Prison Service.
In year 2003, cumulative imprison of inmates was 4, 028,870 with an average daily lockup of 10,677.
The total convict population was 7,850 covering about 7500 male and 257 female. Out of the 10,677 in daily lockup some 2,813 were on remand (jail). Average daily juvenile lockup was about 140 cumulative monthly and annual lockups was between 4,200 and 51,000 respectively.
Altogether, 80 percent were first offenders, 15 percent 2nd offenders, and 4.8 percent recidivists, (criminals who continue to commit crimes even after they have been punished).
Major offenses included stealing, assault, murder, robbery, narcotic, manslaughter, fraud, threat or death, unlawful entry, causing harm, causing damage, conspiracy, rape and defilement. Offenders range from 18-65 years of age.
Imprisonment impacts on women differently than on men since they have different needs. This includes health (sexual and reproductive health). In some countries, women may be pregnant and may give birth in prison.
They are vulnerable to abuse in prison and suffer from very high rates of mental illness. These issues are often overlooked by penal institutions, governments, policy makers and by the international community.
Consideration therefore needs to be given to every aspect of women’s prison systems. However, problems such as overcrowding, poor hygiene, and inadequate visiting facilities affect both men and women prisoners.
A Ghana Country Report on Human Rights Practices released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, (USA) in March 8, 2006 showed that overcrowding in prisons contributes to a high prevalence of communicable diseases.
The report said most women in prison are mothers. The imprisonment of a woman who is a mother can lead to a violation not only of her rights but also the rights of her children. Medical facilities are inadequate.
In Ghana, the law stipulates that regardless of the offense, female convicts should be tested for pregnancy upon imprisonment, and that pregnant convicts should be held in a facility where their health needs could be met. When a mother is imprisoned, her baby may go into prison with her or be separated from her and left on the ‘outside’.
Both situations can put the child at risk.
As the Special Rapporteur on Prisons and Conditions of Detention in Africa stated, “Prisons are not a safe place for pregnant women, babies and young children and it is not advisable to separate babies and young children from their mother” The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were adopted by the First UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders in 1955, and approved by the UN Economic and Social Council in 1957.
They remain the key point of reference in designing and evaluating prison conditions. Since then, the needs and nature of prison populations have changed and further international guidelines concerning imprisonment have been developed.
Two of the most important international standards for imprisonment are the 1988 Body of principles for the Protection of All Persons under any form of Detention or Imprisonment and the 1990 Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners adopted by the UN General Assembly.
All these instruments, affirm that all prisoners must be treated with respect for their human dignity with regard to the conditions of their detention.
They reinforce the idea that the purpose of imprisonment is rehabilitation of the prisoner. By the Prisons Service Decree NRCD 46, the Ghana Prison Service is charged with the responsibility of ensuring safe Custody, welfare, rehabilitation and reformation of prisoners.
The concept of rehabilitation involves providing assistance to enable an offender to adopt a life style which is different from the old unproductive / criminal one.
Thus during a period of incarceration inmates are thought new trade amongst others. However, in Ghana there is hardly any rehabilitative programme for prisoners.
Rehabilitation centres do not exist in most of Ghana’s facilities. Existing workshops are not equipped to attain the desired result on the rehabilitation of inmates.
A greater percentage of inmates had no formal education before their incarceration.
In view of this, the Ghana Prisons Service, (GPS) is collaborating with COPE GHANA to reform, rehabilitate and reintegrate convicts and ex-convicts into the society.Concerns are raised about the youthful uneducated inmates who are serving between 2 and 20 years.
Further provisions have been agreed to address detention of children, namely the 1985 Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice and the 1990 Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty.
However, these rules and principles contain only a handful of provisions specifically directed to women prisoners.
There is growing concern regarding the rights and treatment of women prisoners, at national, regional and international levels.
A range of international fora have emphasized the need to review prison systems and the norms and standards regarding imprisonment with women’s needs in mind.
Women with babies or young children in prison with them are often precluded from participating in education, training or work programmes because there are no childcare facilities.Even a short prison term has a particularly harsh effect on women, in causing intense family disruption.
Most women who are imprisoned are mothers and they are far more likely to be single parents than male prisoners.
A woman living an in insecured or rented accommodation will usually lose this when she enters prison. Women face more discrimination after release from prison.
Such women who have been in prison are particularly stigmatized.The International Scientific and Professional Advisory Council (ISPAC) to the UN Criminal Justice Programme decided at its biennial meeting in December 2005 to adopt a Friends World Committee for Consultation, (FWCC), Quakers proposal for a project on women in prison.
FWCC therefore calls for a full exploration of all aspects of discrimination against women and girls in the Sub-Commission Study on discrimination in the justice system.
The ISPAC project should raise the profile of the issue in the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
In light of the lack of attention usually given to women in prison by the international community, it is worth highlighting the consideration that the UN human rights treaty bodies have given to the subject.Women who are pregnant whilst in prison have particular health and nutrition needs.
The rights of both mothers and babies need to be considered in relation to pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and post-natal care in prison.
The presumption should be that babies should remain with their mothers unless there are compelling reasons for separating them.
The inextricable link between anxiety and stress in the mother and the physical and emotional well being of the baby needs to be recognized and addressed.What rights does a child have if his mother is detained or imprisoned?
Little attention has been given to this subject, despite the profound and permanent impact. Applying the Convention on the Rights of the Child to such situations would lead to some clear conclusions about children’s rights to be considered when decisions are made about their parents.
Media abandons role in developing micro finance policy
Micro finance, which has turned out to be a leading and effective strategy for poverty reduction globally is rather receiving less media attention in Ghana.
A recent media study on categories of issues covered by the media in Ghana from January to December 2006 saw micro financing at the 24th position with the number of stories at 193, representing approximately 0.30%.
Microfinance includes the provision of financial services and the management of small amounts of money, through a range of products and a system of intermediary functions that are targeted at low income clients.
It includes loans, savings, insurance, transfer services and financial products and services.As usual politics topped the list of stories covered by the private newspapers with the figure at 12404 and 19.42%.
The Centre for Media Analysis and Research, (CMAR) conducted the study.
The Chief Executive Officer of Centre for Media Analysis, Dr Messan Mawugbe, who presented the findings challenged stakeholders to discuss the strategies in promoting small and medium enterprises and micro financing in Ghana and the extent to which the media could play an effective role.
“A well resourced media would equally project economic policies to enhance national development”, he stressed.
At a forum under the theme, “Micro Enterprising: The Role of the Media in Micro-Financing Policy Development”, a Director at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Kobina Amoah noted that although microfinance is not a panacea for poverty reduction, it could make sustainable contributions through financial investment leading to the empowerment of people.
He said the increasing role of microfinance in development has emanated from the fact that the poor need access to productive resources, with financial services being a key resource, if they are to be able to improve their lives.
“The recognition that microfinance can have significant impact on cross cutting issues such as women’s empowerment, reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation as well as improving social indicators such as education, housing and health is growing.”
Mr. Amoah bemoaned that Ghana’s financial sector in spite of reforms still experiences a gap between the demand for and the supply of financial services.
According to him, since the beginning of government involvement in microfinance in the 1950’s, the sub-sector has operated without specific policy guidelines and goals.
A situation he said partially accounts for the slow growth of the sub-sector, lack of direction, fragmentation and lack of coordination.
“Partly due to the lack of direction, there has not been a coherent approach to dealing with the constraints facing the sub-sector.
Among the constraints are inappropriate institutional arrangements, poor regulatory environment, inadequate capacities, poor institutional linkages, inadequate skills and professionalism and inadequate capital.”
He recommended that better coordination and collaboration among key stakeholders, including the development partners, government and other agencies, could help to better integrate microfinance with the development of the overall financial sector.
“While Ghana has a reasonably diversified and supervised regulatory framework for formal financial institutions licensed by the Bank of Ghana, there is concern that appropriate regulation needs to be extended to other institutions operating in the microfinance sub-sector in order to improve the outreach, sustainability and efficiency of savings, credit delivery and institutional arrangements.”
He emphasized that the general policy direction of the sub-sector is that the government, “Shall support the building of an inclusive financial delivery system by improving and deepening financial intermediation to serve the poor and low-income populations with inadequate access to quality financial services.”
A recent media study on categories of issues covered by the media in Ghana from January to December 2006 saw micro financing at the 24th position with the number of stories at 193, representing approximately 0.30%.
Microfinance includes the provision of financial services and the management of small amounts of money, through a range of products and a system of intermediary functions that are targeted at low income clients.
It includes loans, savings, insurance, transfer services and financial products and services.As usual politics topped the list of stories covered by the private newspapers with the figure at 12404 and 19.42%.
The Centre for Media Analysis and Research, (CMAR) conducted the study.
The Chief Executive Officer of Centre for Media Analysis, Dr Messan Mawugbe, who presented the findings challenged stakeholders to discuss the strategies in promoting small and medium enterprises and micro financing in Ghana and the extent to which the media could play an effective role.
“A well resourced media would equally project economic policies to enhance national development”, he stressed.
At a forum under the theme, “Micro Enterprising: The Role of the Media in Micro-Financing Policy Development”, a Director at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr. Kobina Amoah noted that although microfinance is not a panacea for poverty reduction, it could make sustainable contributions through financial investment leading to the empowerment of people.
He said the increasing role of microfinance in development has emanated from the fact that the poor need access to productive resources, with financial services being a key resource, if they are to be able to improve their lives.
“The recognition that microfinance can have significant impact on cross cutting issues such as women’s empowerment, reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS and environmental degradation as well as improving social indicators such as education, housing and health is growing.”
Mr. Amoah bemoaned that Ghana’s financial sector in spite of reforms still experiences a gap between the demand for and the supply of financial services.
According to him, since the beginning of government involvement in microfinance in the 1950’s, the sub-sector has operated without specific policy guidelines and goals.
A situation he said partially accounts for the slow growth of the sub-sector, lack of direction, fragmentation and lack of coordination.
“Partly due to the lack of direction, there has not been a coherent approach to dealing with the constraints facing the sub-sector.
Among the constraints are inappropriate institutional arrangements, poor regulatory environment, inadequate capacities, poor institutional linkages, inadequate skills and professionalism and inadequate capital.”
He recommended that better coordination and collaboration among key stakeholders, including the development partners, government and other agencies, could help to better integrate microfinance with the development of the overall financial sector.
“While Ghana has a reasonably diversified and supervised regulatory framework for formal financial institutions licensed by the Bank of Ghana, there is concern that appropriate regulation needs to be extended to other institutions operating in the microfinance sub-sector in order to improve the outreach, sustainability and efficiency of savings, credit delivery and institutional arrangements.”
He emphasized that the general policy direction of the sub-sector is that the government, “Shall support the building of an inclusive financial delivery system by improving and deepening financial intermediation to serve the poor and low-income populations with inadequate access to quality financial services.”
Man 32, jailed 10 years for defilement
Mohammed Gyasi 32, has been convicted to ten years imprisonment in hard labour for defiling a thirteen-year old girl.
Gyasi was said to have been engaged as a driver by the mother of the victim when they came on holidays in Ghana from the United Kingdom. Complainant is the uncle of the victim.
The Public Affairs officer of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, (DVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Inspector Irene Oppong told Public Agenda that the victim’s mother realized victim had become weak and vomiting when they returned to the UK.
When the mother inquired, victim told her that the driver Mohammed Gyasi on two occasions had sexual intercourse with her.
Victim said the first incident took place in her mother’s car and the second in Gyasi’s room. Inspector Irene said the mother rang her brother who is here in Ghana and he lodged a complaint at DOVVSU.
Later victim and mother came down from the UK and reported to the police. Victim was issued a medical form to attend hospital. When accused Gyasi was put before court, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in hard labour.
Also, suspect Abubakar Ibrahim aged 40 has been arrested by the police for allegedly forcibly having sex with two complainants aged 18 and 19 respectively. DOVVSU Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Irene Oppong said victims live with their parents at Nyamekye and Fadama, both suburbs of Accra.
Suspect Abubakar is an Arabic teacher who teaches Moslem youths, including victims in a private house at Fadama. Abubakar runs the classes on morning, afternoon and evening shifts for his students.
Sometime in June 2006, first victim attended afternoon shift classes and alleged that after closing, Abubakar asked her to scrub his bathroom for him. While there, Abubakar entered and forcibly had sex with her.
Again somewhere in August 2006, second victim attended evening classes after which she also alleged Abubakar lured her into his bedroom and forcibly had sex with her.
On May 28, 2007 both complainants made a report to the police and suspect was arrested. The case is still under investigation.
Gyasi was said to have been engaged as a driver by the mother of the victim when they came on holidays in Ghana from the United Kingdom. Complainant is the uncle of the victim.
The Public Affairs officer of the Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit, (DVVSU) of the Ghana Police Service, Inspector Irene Oppong told Public Agenda that the victim’s mother realized victim had become weak and vomiting when they returned to the UK.
When the mother inquired, victim told her that the driver Mohammed Gyasi on two occasions had sexual intercourse with her.
Victim said the first incident took place in her mother’s car and the second in Gyasi’s room. Inspector Irene said the mother rang her brother who is here in Ghana and he lodged a complaint at DOVVSU.
Later victim and mother came down from the UK and reported to the police. Victim was issued a medical form to attend hospital. When accused Gyasi was put before court, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to ten years imprisonment in hard labour.
Also, suspect Abubakar Ibrahim aged 40 has been arrested by the police for allegedly forcibly having sex with two complainants aged 18 and 19 respectively. DOVVSU Public Affairs Officer, Inspector Irene Oppong said victims live with their parents at Nyamekye and Fadama, both suburbs of Accra.
Suspect Abubakar is an Arabic teacher who teaches Moslem youths, including victims in a private house at Fadama. Abubakar runs the classes on morning, afternoon and evening shifts for his students.
Sometime in June 2006, first victim attended afternoon shift classes and alleged that after closing, Abubakar asked her to scrub his bathroom for him. While there, Abubakar entered and forcibly had sex with her.
Again somewhere in August 2006, second victim attended evening classes after which she also alleged Abubakar lured her into his bedroom and forcibly had sex with her.
On May 28, 2007 both complainants made a report to the police and suspect was arrested. The case is still under investigation.
Mobile phone thieves arrested
The Nima Police have arrested one Joseph Kwame Tetteh aged 23 for breaking into a mobile phone ware house at Nima and stealing 125 pieces of assorted phones costing millions of cedis.
Three of his accomplices, Nana Yaw Owusu Tawiah 32, Nana Owusu Ansah and Kwaku Kissi 26, all businessmen in Accra have also been picked up by the police. According to Chief Superintendent Angwubutoge Awuni, Divisional Police Commander, Accra Central, on July 8, 2007, complainant in the case visited his mobile phone warehouse and detected that the premises had been burglarized.
On inspection he detected that 125 pieces of assorted mobile phones had been stolen from the warehouse. He lodged a compliant with the Nima Divisional Police Commander who dispatched a team of policemen to investigate.
Chief Supt. Awuni said in the course of investigation, Joseph Kwame Tetteh, a former employee of the complainant was arrested.
Upon interrogation, he admitted entering the premises and stealing the phones. Eighty pieces were given to Nana Yaw Owusu Tawiah, out of which twenty have been retrieved.
Nana Owusu Ansah received 30 pieces for sale but two pieces have been recovered. The third accomplice Kwaku Kissi received 15 pieces of the stolen phones and two have been recovered from him.
The four are on police enquiry bail to appear before court on charges of unlawful entry, stealing and dishonestly receiving
Three of his accomplices, Nana Yaw Owusu Tawiah 32, Nana Owusu Ansah and Kwaku Kissi 26, all businessmen in Accra have also been picked up by the police. According to Chief Superintendent Angwubutoge Awuni, Divisional Police Commander, Accra Central, on July 8, 2007, complainant in the case visited his mobile phone warehouse and detected that the premises had been burglarized.
On inspection he detected that 125 pieces of assorted mobile phones had been stolen from the warehouse. He lodged a compliant with the Nima Divisional Police Commander who dispatched a team of policemen to investigate.
Chief Supt. Awuni said in the course of investigation, Joseph Kwame Tetteh, a former employee of the complainant was arrested.
Upon interrogation, he admitted entering the premises and stealing the phones. Eighty pieces were given to Nana Yaw Owusu Tawiah, out of which twenty have been retrieved.
Nana Owusu Ansah received 30 pieces for sale but two pieces have been recovered. The third accomplice Kwaku Kissi received 15 pieces of the stolen phones and two have been recovered from him.
The four are on police enquiry bail to appear before court on charges of unlawful entry, stealing and dishonestly receiving
GTLC commends move to ban importation of tomato paste
The Ghana Trade and Livelihoods Coalition, (GTLC) has lauded government’s temporary ban on the importation of tomato paste and concentrate into the country, effective November 1, 2007.
GTLC cited unfair trade practices as the reason for the action by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI. Currently, Ghana is reported to be the second largest importer of tomato paste in the world.
The country is second only to Germany and consumes an average of 25,000 tonnes of tomato paste in a year at a total cost of about $25 million dollars.
The notice of the ban came barely a week after a news report on the negative effects that under-invoicing of tomato paste and concentrate into the country was having on the economy and local producers of such products.
A release issued in Accra and signed by the National Coordinator of GTLC, Ibrahim Akalbila expressed worry about the situation where local producers would increase production only for the ban to be lifted or not implemented.
It says, “In commending government, the Coalition is however cautious about raising high hopes since the memory of Act 641, which was enacted by parliament in 2003 to protect local poultry and rice farmers, was not implemented due to external pressures.”
GTLC questioned the duration of the ban and the measures government envisages in ensuring that people in the tomato industry take full advantage of it.
It called on government to support local producers of tomato through specific investment programmes that would ensure that the Ghanaian tomato farmer and producer particularly, and the economy at large are the eventual beneficiaries.
GTLC further called on government to consider extending similar protective measures to include rice and poultry products where unfair competition is also rife.
It also commended the Mi-nistry of Health for encouraging Ghanaians through short message service to consume locally produced goods.
According to the GTLC, the liberty to impose a ban or use protective measures to induce productivity and growth of the local small scale agriculture and industrial sectors concerned will be lost if the Economic Partnership Agreement, being negotiated between ACP countries and EU is signed in December 2007.
Apart from the problem of under-invoicing associated with the importation of tomato paste and concentrate, there were fears that starch dominated what had been canned as tomato paste. Available statistics suggest that Ghana is the second largest importer of tin tomato, second to Germany.
In year 2000, Ghana imported about 10 million kilograms of tomato paste at about $8.9 million. This rose to about 12 million kilograms at $9.6 million in 2001, according to an initial story published by Public Agenda on March 20th 2006 edition, titled “ Ghana is 2nd largest importer of tin tomato.”
In 2002 16.4 million kilograms was imported at a total cost of $12.7 million. The European Union alone is reported to have exported 27, 000 tonnes of preserved tomatoes to Ghana in 2003.
Though years 2004, 05 and 06 figures were not available, the trend suggests that in each year, Ghana’s import volume of tomato paste jumps by about 23%.
This is not surprising judging that tomato is used in almost every meal in the country. If the ban on tomato imports is carried out, the jobs of about 1,250 Ghanaian tomato farmers could be secured.
These farmers are mainly from Navrongo and Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, Buntanga, Gulinga and Libga in the Northern region, Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo region and Asante Akim in the Ashanti Region.
Tomato farming, processing and distribution could become the biggest employment avenue for many rural dwellers, but for the unbridled trade liberalization that has resulted in foreign tomato taking over the market.
Research shows that about 60 percent of the content of imported tomato is artificial additives, the reason why it is cheaper than local tomato.
GTLC cited unfair trade practices as the reason for the action by the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI. Currently, Ghana is reported to be the second largest importer of tomato paste in the world.
The country is second only to Germany and consumes an average of 25,000 tonnes of tomato paste in a year at a total cost of about $25 million dollars.
The notice of the ban came barely a week after a news report on the negative effects that under-invoicing of tomato paste and concentrate into the country was having on the economy and local producers of such products.
A release issued in Accra and signed by the National Coordinator of GTLC, Ibrahim Akalbila expressed worry about the situation where local producers would increase production only for the ban to be lifted or not implemented.
It says, “In commending government, the Coalition is however cautious about raising high hopes since the memory of Act 641, which was enacted by parliament in 2003 to protect local poultry and rice farmers, was not implemented due to external pressures.”
GTLC questioned the duration of the ban and the measures government envisages in ensuring that people in the tomato industry take full advantage of it.
It called on government to support local producers of tomato through specific investment programmes that would ensure that the Ghanaian tomato farmer and producer particularly, and the economy at large are the eventual beneficiaries.
GTLC further called on government to consider extending similar protective measures to include rice and poultry products where unfair competition is also rife.
It also commended the Mi-nistry of Health for encouraging Ghanaians through short message service to consume locally produced goods.
According to the GTLC, the liberty to impose a ban or use protective measures to induce productivity and growth of the local small scale agriculture and industrial sectors concerned will be lost if the Economic Partnership Agreement, being negotiated between ACP countries and EU is signed in December 2007.
Apart from the problem of under-invoicing associated with the importation of tomato paste and concentrate, there were fears that starch dominated what had been canned as tomato paste. Available statistics suggest that Ghana is the second largest importer of tin tomato, second to Germany.
In year 2000, Ghana imported about 10 million kilograms of tomato paste at about $8.9 million. This rose to about 12 million kilograms at $9.6 million in 2001, according to an initial story published by Public Agenda on March 20th 2006 edition, titled “ Ghana is 2nd largest importer of tin tomato.”
In 2002 16.4 million kilograms was imported at a total cost of $12.7 million. The European Union alone is reported to have exported 27, 000 tonnes of preserved tomatoes to Ghana in 2003.
Though years 2004, 05 and 06 figures were not available, the trend suggests that in each year, Ghana’s import volume of tomato paste jumps by about 23%.
This is not surprising judging that tomato is used in almost every meal in the country. If the ban on tomato imports is carried out, the jobs of about 1,250 Ghanaian tomato farmers could be secured.
These farmers are mainly from Navrongo and Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region, Buntanga, Gulinga and Libga in the Northern region, Tuobodom in the Brong Ahafo region and Asante Akim in the Ashanti Region.
Tomato farming, processing and distribution could become the biggest employment avenue for many rural dwellers, but for the unbridled trade liberalization that has resulted in foreign tomato taking over the market.
Research shows that about 60 percent of the content of imported tomato is artificial additives, the reason why it is cheaper than local tomato.
Women dominate migration in developing countries
Migration of humans is referred to as any movement by them from one place to another, often over long distances or in large groups.
Migration happens within regions, countries or outside countries. In Ghana like any developing country, there is internal migration by rural dwellers to urban centres despite its attendant problems.
In the past, males dominated the migration trend flowing from their traditional roles as breadwinners, now that has changed. I
t is said that relative economic prosperity in the 1960’s in Ghana, made her a destination country for nationals from neighbouring countries.
Yet, by late 1970s and 80s, economic decline and stagnation compelled Ghanaians to move out. It was aggravated by bad governance, particularly under military regimes. By 1980s migration had become a coping strategy for individuals and families.
Majority of Ghanaians migrated to countries within the sub-region such as Nigeria. Others also found themselves in Europe.
Men who were supposed to be heads of families migrated for years, leaving children and wives behind.
But as both men and women began sharing economic roles the trend changed.Approximately 175 million people, or 2.9% of the world’s population, currently live temporarily or permanently outside their countries of origin.
This figure includes migrant workers, permanent immigrants, and refugees and asylum seekers but it does not account for the growing irregular or undocumented movement that characterizes migration.
Female migration has important implications for development but still receives little attention in developing countries like Ghana.
It involves both the unskilled and semi-skilled from rural to urban areas mainly for economic reasons.
Increased poverty, deterioration and inadequate social services such as health and education, imbalances in development, distribution of social services and infrastructure have often been cited as determinants of migration.
Others include lack of employment opportunities and employable skills.The different types of migration include temporary, permanent, illegal, labor and conflict-induced migration.
A United Nations report on women and migration argues that the impact of women’s status and roles on their tendency to migrate must be considered at three levels: individual, familial, and societal.
Individual factors include age, birth order, race/ethnicity, urban/rural origins, marital status (single, married, divorced, widowed), reproductive status (children or no children), role in the family (wife, daughter, mother), position in family (authoritative or subordinate), educational status, occupational skills/training, labor force experience, and class position.
Family factors include size, age/sex composition, life-cycle stage, structure (nuclear, extended, etc.), status (single parent, both parents, etc.), and class standing. Societal factors include community norms and cultural values that determine whether or not women can migrate and, if they can, how (i.e., labor or family reunification) and with whom (alone or with family).
Immigration laws and regulations of the country of destination also influence the migration of women and men. T
hese policies can influence the ability of women and men to migrate in three ways. First, the migration policies of many receiving countries totally assume a “dependent” status for women and an “independent” migrant status for men. Women are often classified by their relation to men (e.g., wife or daughter) with whom they migrate regardless of their own, independent status.
Traditional sex roles regarding the place of women in society influence the type of work for which migrant female labor is recruited.
Women admitted as workers are generally concentrated in “female” occupations, such as domestic service or nursing. Domestic workers and workers in the sex trade, for example, may enter countries under the auspices of organized intermediaries, although not part of the policies of the countries of origin and destination.
Men and women may be treated differently in a receiving country. While migration has lead to an improvement in the social status of women, it has not change their relative position within the family.
Gender is deeply rooted in determining who moves, how those moves take place. Migration in Africa is described as dynamic and extremely complex.
The traditional pattern of migration within and from Africa, which was male-dominated, has increasingly become feminized.
This is reflected in the diversification of migration destinations and brain drain from the region. Now there is an increase in migration by women, who had traditionally remained at home while men moved around in search of paid work. Now women move independently to fulfill their own economic needs.
They are not joining a husband or other family members. Ghanaian women now engage in international migration and often leave their spouses at home to care for the children.
Female nurses and doctors have been recruited from Ghana are taking advantage of the better pay packages in the United Kingdom and United States to accumulate enough savings to survive harsh economic conditions at home.
The emigration of doctors and nurses from Ghana is occurring at a time when their services are urgently needed in the overstressed health sector and the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS).
It is important for policy makers concerned with migration to focus not only on the demographic, but also on the economic and social consequences of this trend on the productive sectors.
The relatively new phenomenon of female migration constitutes an important change in gender roles for Africa, creating new challenges for public policy.
The 2004 International Labour Conference noted that despite the positive experiences of migrant workers, a significant number face undue hardships and abuse in the form of low wages, poor working conditions, virtual absence of social protection and are denied freedom of association and workers’ rights. African migrants involve in risky ventures to gain entry into Europe.
They pass through Senegal to Spain by way of the Canary Islands. Others engage in life-threatening trips by hiding aboard ships, (stowaways) destined for Europe.
Unscrupulous agents exploit these desperate migrants with promises of passages to Italy, Spain, and France. However, most of these people end up stranded in Dakar, Libya and Morocco for years.
Most end up living in shacks, and some women give birth under these poverty-stricken conditions. Others loose their lives during dangerous attempts to cross the sea to Spain in rickety boats.
Among benefits of women migration include remittances to families left behind for subsistence, education and health as well as reduction in traditional division of labour.
A major negative consequence include increased vulnerability due to lowincomes for the unskilled in particular as they engage in menial and insecure jobs including sex work.
African policy makers face the urgent task of resolving the unemployment crisis in order to productively engage their teeming educated but unemployed young people.
This can only happen, when all stakeholders make concerted efforts to eliminate obstacles to sustainable development and political instability.
Furthermore, the role of migration in spreading HIV/AIDS should be re-examined critically. International organizations, human rights advocates, governments and NGOs are increasingly giving attention to the human rights aspects of migration, especially rights of migrants other than refugees and asylum seekers.
The appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants is a manifestation of this new attention.
Migration happens within regions, countries or outside countries. In Ghana like any developing country, there is internal migration by rural dwellers to urban centres despite its attendant problems.
In the past, males dominated the migration trend flowing from their traditional roles as breadwinners, now that has changed. I
t is said that relative economic prosperity in the 1960’s in Ghana, made her a destination country for nationals from neighbouring countries.
Yet, by late 1970s and 80s, economic decline and stagnation compelled Ghanaians to move out. It was aggravated by bad governance, particularly under military regimes. By 1980s migration had become a coping strategy for individuals and families.
Majority of Ghanaians migrated to countries within the sub-region such as Nigeria. Others also found themselves in Europe.
Men who were supposed to be heads of families migrated for years, leaving children and wives behind.
But as both men and women began sharing economic roles the trend changed.Approximately 175 million people, or 2.9% of the world’s population, currently live temporarily or permanently outside their countries of origin.
This figure includes migrant workers, permanent immigrants, and refugees and asylum seekers but it does not account for the growing irregular or undocumented movement that characterizes migration.
Female migration has important implications for development but still receives little attention in developing countries like Ghana.
It involves both the unskilled and semi-skilled from rural to urban areas mainly for economic reasons.
Increased poverty, deterioration and inadequate social services such as health and education, imbalances in development, distribution of social services and infrastructure have often been cited as determinants of migration.
Others include lack of employment opportunities and employable skills.The different types of migration include temporary, permanent, illegal, labor and conflict-induced migration.
A United Nations report on women and migration argues that the impact of women’s status and roles on their tendency to migrate must be considered at three levels: individual, familial, and societal.
Individual factors include age, birth order, race/ethnicity, urban/rural origins, marital status (single, married, divorced, widowed), reproductive status (children or no children), role in the family (wife, daughter, mother), position in family (authoritative or subordinate), educational status, occupational skills/training, labor force experience, and class position.
Family factors include size, age/sex composition, life-cycle stage, structure (nuclear, extended, etc.), status (single parent, both parents, etc.), and class standing. Societal factors include community norms and cultural values that determine whether or not women can migrate and, if they can, how (i.e., labor or family reunification) and with whom (alone or with family).
Immigration laws and regulations of the country of destination also influence the migration of women and men. T
hese policies can influence the ability of women and men to migrate in three ways. First, the migration policies of many receiving countries totally assume a “dependent” status for women and an “independent” migrant status for men. Women are often classified by their relation to men (e.g., wife or daughter) with whom they migrate regardless of their own, independent status.
Traditional sex roles regarding the place of women in society influence the type of work for which migrant female labor is recruited.
Women admitted as workers are generally concentrated in “female” occupations, such as domestic service or nursing. Domestic workers and workers in the sex trade, for example, may enter countries under the auspices of organized intermediaries, although not part of the policies of the countries of origin and destination.
Men and women may be treated differently in a receiving country. While migration has lead to an improvement in the social status of women, it has not change their relative position within the family.
Gender is deeply rooted in determining who moves, how those moves take place. Migration in Africa is described as dynamic and extremely complex.
The traditional pattern of migration within and from Africa, which was male-dominated, has increasingly become feminized.
This is reflected in the diversification of migration destinations and brain drain from the region. Now there is an increase in migration by women, who had traditionally remained at home while men moved around in search of paid work. Now women move independently to fulfill their own economic needs.
They are not joining a husband or other family members. Ghanaian women now engage in international migration and often leave their spouses at home to care for the children.
Female nurses and doctors have been recruited from Ghana are taking advantage of the better pay packages in the United Kingdom and United States to accumulate enough savings to survive harsh economic conditions at home.
The emigration of doctors and nurses from Ghana is occurring at a time when their services are urgently needed in the overstressed health sector and the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme, (NHIS).
It is important for policy makers concerned with migration to focus not only on the demographic, but also on the economic and social consequences of this trend on the productive sectors.
The relatively new phenomenon of female migration constitutes an important change in gender roles for Africa, creating new challenges for public policy.
The 2004 International Labour Conference noted that despite the positive experiences of migrant workers, a significant number face undue hardships and abuse in the form of low wages, poor working conditions, virtual absence of social protection and are denied freedom of association and workers’ rights. African migrants involve in risky ventures to gain entry into Europe.
They pass through Senegal to Spain by way of the Canary Islands. Others engage in life-threatening trips by hiding aboard ships, (stowaways) destined for Europe.
Unscrupulous agents exploit these desperate migrants with promises of passages to Italy, Spain, and France. However, most of these people end up stranded in Dakar, Libya and Morocco for years.
Most end up living in shacks, and some women give birth under these poverty-stricken conditions. Others loose their lives during dangerous attempts to cross the sea to Spain in rickety boats.
Among benefits of women migration include remittances to families left behind for subsistence, education and health as well as reduction in traditional division of labour.
A major negative consequence include increased vulnerability due to lowincomes for the unskilled in particular as they engage in menial and insecure jobs including sex work.
African policy makers face the urgent task of resolving the unemployment crisis in order to productively engage their teeming educated but unemployed young people.
This can only happen, when all stakeholders make concerted efforts to eliminate obstacles to sustainable development and political instability.
Furthermore, the role of migration in spreading HIV/AIDS should be re-examined critically. International organizations, human rights advocates, governments and NGOs are increasingly giving attention to the human rights aspects of migration, especially rights of migrants other than refugees and asylum seekers.
The appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants is a manifestation of this new attention.
Girls and early & child marriage
Akos (not real name) was given in marriage as the fourth wife to Baabamu at the age of thirteen.
Even though her physical looks could pass for an eighteen year old, she was psychologically undeveloped.
At sixteen when she had her first child, she could not even breastfeed as she did not have enough breast milk.
Now at the age of thirty she has six children and still hoping for more. She is not engaged in any economic activity and is totally dependent on her husband.
Akos has neither formal education nor has she learnt any trade.
Now that the husband is old, the fate of her children rests in the hands of her older step-children to provide for their upkeep.
This is just many of the ordeal many Ghanaian girls go through when they are given in early marriage. In Ghana, a child below the age of eighteen is classified as a minor. The acceptable age for marriage is eighteen years and above.
However, religious, traditional and other values give way for such minors to be given in marriage. Early Child marriage is prevalent in many developing countries, including Ghana.
It is hard to know the exact number of child marriages as so many are unregistered and unofficial. UNICEF estimates based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS 1987-2005) show that in developing countries, around 65 million women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18.
Child marriage occurs more frequently in rural settings than in urban ones. Girls living in the poorest 20 per cent of households are more likely to get married at an early age than those living in the wealthiest 20 per cent.
Women with primary education are significantly less likely to be married as children than those with no education. Besides, girls who marry young are more likely to live in poverty, experience violence at home and abandon school.
In spite of legal provisions, child marriage is still practiced in many developing countries. Statistics by the International Women’s Health Coalition, (IWHC) states that the vast majority of those married as children are girls, and if current patterns continue, over 100 million girls in the developing world will be married during the next 10 years.
According to UNICEF, child marriage is a violation of human rights. It forces children to assume responsibilities and handle situations which they are often physically and psychologically unprepared for.
In places where child marriage is practiced in Ghana, girls have no say on when and whom to marry and have no independence once married.
They are mostly much younger than their spouses and sex in child marriage is more frequent. Poor families regard early marriage of young girls as an economic tactic for survival. Some families consider child marriage a protection for girls from the dangers of sexual assault.
It is also seen as a strategy to avoid girls becoming pregnant outside marriage. Girls enter child marriage with little or no information about their reproductive health, including contraception, safe motherhood, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Because their bodies are not fully developed, they are at greater risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth. These often result in death.
Pregnancy is said to be the leading cause of death for adolescent girls coupled with health problems such as obstetric fistula. An Obstetric fistula is an injury of childbearing usually caused by several days of obstructed labour, without timely medical intervention.
The risk that their babies will die in their first year of life is 50% higher than for children born to women in their 20s.
Child marriage is outlawed in many developing countries and several international agreements and conventions also forbid the practice.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the rights to “free and full” consent to marriage and determines that this standard is not met, when a person is not mature enough to make an informed decision.
The International Convention on the Rights of the Child upholds the rights of a child to be protected from harmful traditional practices.
The 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child prohibits marriage under 18. Yet, child marriage persists in developing countries like Ghana because they lack resources and sometimes the political commitment to enforce such laws.
In Ghana, Civil Society groups are actively working to discourage the practice by creating community awareness of the adverse consequences and demanding enforcement of laws.
Recently there were media reports of a 19-year old girl who had fled from early forced marriage, even though she is not a minor.
She was only rescued by the police in Accra after she was chained hands and feet and concealed under the metal seats of a 33-seater Mercedes Benz bus for a 723-kilometre journey to Walewale.
Over the years’ human rights activists, particularly women’s rights activist have been fighting to put an end to early / forced marriages and just as we were thinking that some achievements have been recorded with the passage of the Domestic Violence Law, Ghana as a nation comes face to face with such a story.
The issue needs to be revisited.
Even though her physical looks could pass for an eighteen year old, she was psychologically undeveloped.
At sixteen when she had her first child, she could not even breastfeed as she did not have enough breast milk.
Now at the age of thirty she has six children and still hoping for more. She is not engaged in any economic activity and is totally dependent on her husband.
Akos has neither formal education nor has she learnt any trade.
Now that the husband is old, the fate of her children rests in the hands of her older step-children to provide for their upkeep.
This is just many of the ordeal many Ghanaian girls go through when they are given in early marriage. In Ghana, a child below the age of eighteen is classified as a minor. The acceptable age for marriage is eighteen years and above.
However, religious, traditional and other values give way for such minors to be given in marriage. Early Child marriage is prevalent in many developing countries, including Ghana.
It is hard to know the exact number of child marriages as so many are unregistered and unofficial. UNICEF estimates based on Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, (MICS) and Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS 1987-2005) show that in developing countries, around 65 million women aged 20-24 were married before the age of 18.
Child marriage occurs more frequently in rural settings than in urban ones. Girls living in the poorest 20 per cent of households are more likely to get married at an early age than those living in the wealthiest 20 per cent.
Women with primary education are significantly less likely to be married as children than those with no education. Besides, girls who marry young are more likely to live in poverty, experience violence at home and abandon school.
In spite of legal provisions, child marriage is still practiced in many developing countries. Statistics by the International Women’s Health Coalition, (IWHC) states that the vast majority of those married as children are girls, and if current patterns continue, over 100 million girls in the developing world will be married during the next 10 years.
According to UNICEF, child marriage is a violation of human rights. It forces children to assume responsibilities and handle situations which they are often physically and psychologically unprepared for.
In places where child marriage is practiced in Ghana, girls have no say on when and whom to marry and have no independence once married.
They are mostly much younger than their spouses and sex in child marriage is more frequent. Poor families regard early marriage of young girls as an economic tactic for survival. Some families consider child marriage a protection for girls from the dangers of sexual assault.
It is also seen as a strategy to avoid girls becoming pregnant outside marriage. Girls enter child marriage with little or no information about their reproductive health, including contraception, safe motherhood, and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS.
Because their bodies are not fully developed, they are at greater risk of complications in pregnancy and childbirth. These often result in death.
Pregnancy is said to be the leading cause of death for adolescent girls coupled with health problems such as obstetric fistula. An Obstetric fistula is an injury of childbearing usually caused by several days of obstructed labour, without timely medical intervention.
The risk that their babies will die in their first year of life is 50% higher than for children born to women in their 20s.
Child marriage is outlawed in many developing countries and several international agreements and conventions also forbid the practice.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the rights to “free and full” consent to marriage and determines that this standard is not met, when a person is not mature enough to make an informed decision.
The International Convention on the Rights of the Child upholds the rights of a child to be protected from harmful traditional practices.
The 1990 African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child prohibits marriage under 18. Yet, child marriage persists in developing countries like Ghana because they lack resources and sometimes the political commitment to enforce such laws.
In Ghana, Civil Society groups are actively working to discourage the practice by creating community awareness of the adverse consequences and demanding enforcement of laws.
Recently there were media reports of a 19-year old girl who had fled from early forced marriage, even though she is not a minor.
She was only rescued by the police in Accra after she was chained hands and feet and concealed under the metal seats of a 33-seater Mercedes Benz bus for a 723-kilometre journey to Walewale.
Over the years’ human rights activists, particularly women’s rights activist have been fighting to put an end to early / forced marriages and just as we were thinking that some achievements have been recorded with the passage of the Domestic Violence Law, Ghana as a nation comes face to face with such a story.
The issue needs to be revisited.
Do something about GCD before you go - Akwatiaman appeals to President
The people of Akwatia in the kwaebiberem District of the Eastern Region have appealed to President John Agyekum Kufuor to intervene to ensure that the 806 workers of the defunct Ghana Consolidated Diamond, (GCD) receive their outstanding seven-month salary on time.
The community said, “The GCD workers and their dependants and the entire Akwatia community are looking up to you to fast track possible solution to revive the dying company.
The collapse of the industry will spell doom for the Akwatia community and its environs.”
Speaking at a press briefing at Akwatia, Methodist Church Minister, Very Rev. Abraham Alex Otoo stated, “ the collapse of the Diamond Company at Akwatia during the tenure of office of the sitting President of Ghana will leave an indelible black spot on his outstanding, efficient and effective administration.”
The Christian and Muslim communities in Akwatia, the traditional council, the GCD workers and Akwatiaman in general organized the briefing.
The townsfolk clad in red and black demonstrated and carried placards, some of which read, “Mr. President, GCD workers have fasted for seven months (210 days) without food.”
Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Company (GCD) established in 1924 is the chief producer of diamond in the country.
It has a total concession of 185.35 square miles within the Birim diamond field and Kobriso Gold concession.
Historically, mining had brought economic benefits to Akwatia and its environs through which it earned its name as “The diamond town”.
However, GCD which is currently the only mine wholly owned by the state is now a shadow of past glory.
A visit to the site revealed that machines and equipment meant for the production of diamonds have been rendered obsolete over the years, bringing untold economic hardship on the community.
According to Rev. Otoo, many families are breaking apart as wives who cannot stand the prevailing abject poverty have left their husbands.
“Many of the workers have lost their reputation as responsible parents because they are unable to meet the financial needs of their families.”
He said government must seriously consider injecting working capital into the industry to enhance operation.
“The government must expedite action on possible divestiture of the company to a reliable investor of good standing.”
The Chief of Akwatia, Nana Osabarima Kofi Boateng called for change in management and the board overhauled.
He described as unfortunate the absence of a representative from the area on the board of GCD from time immemorial, saying, “Several petitions over the years have yielded no results.”
He said the company’s security is porous and are unable to take action against illegal miners. Nana Akwatiahene appealed to factions involved in the divestiture of GCD to do away with individual interests in order to attract right investors.
“GCD is the only mine and diamond mine belonging to government so the must take a critical look at it. If GCD should get the right capital like Anglogold Ashanti, it will prevent it from total collapse.”
He pledged the traditional authority’s readiness to collaborate with government to source investors to revive the company. Conspicuously absent from the press briefing were members of the management of GCD.
In fact, most of the workers complained about the adamant stance by the management in finding solutions, since the beginning of their predicament.
The community alleged that some individuals are engaged in illegal mining, (galamsey) in the area, which they said is a major hindrance to getting an investor to revitalize the company.
“Those people are deliberately sabotaging any attempts to save the company in order to continue with their illegal operations.”
The townsfolk also alleged that some of the illegal miners performed rituals by burying a live bull near the Birim River, after consulting a ‘juju man’ to prevent any investor from showing interest in the company.
For many years GCD’s large –scale mining production eclipsed artisanal diamond mining in Ghana. While there has been a steady decline in total diamond mining production in Akwatia over the past decades, small- scale diamond mining has increased exponentially in the area.
The primary driving force for the increase in artisanal mining activities in Akwatia was that GCD sold its mine concession to small-scale up miners. Besides that there are problems with illicit mining in the town.
The community said, “The GCD workers and their dependants and the entire Akwatia community are looking up to you to fast track possible solution to revive the dying company.
The collapse of the industry will spell doom for the Akwatia community and its environs.”
Speaking at a press briefing at Akwatia, Methodist Church Minister, Very Rev. Abraham Alex Otoo stated, “ the collapse of the Diamond Company at Akwatia during the tenure of office of the sitting President of Ghana will leave an indelible black spot on his outstanding, efficient and effective administration.”
The Christian and Muslim communities in Akwatia, the traditional council, the GCD workers and Akwatiaman in general organized the briefing.
The townsfolk clad in red and black demonstrated and carried placards, some of which read, “Mr. President, GCD workers have fasted for seven months (210 days) without food.”
Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Company (GCD) established in 1924 is the chief producer of diamond in the country.
It has a total concession of 185.35 square miles within the Birim diamond field and Kobriso Gold concession.
Historically, mining had brought economic benefits to Akwatia and its environs through which it earned its name as “The diamond town”.
However, GCD which is currently the only mine wholly owned by the state is now a shadow of past glory.
A visit to the site revealed that machines and equipment meant for the production of diamonds have been rendered obsolete over the years, bringing untold economic hardship on the community.
According to Rev. Otoo, many families are breaking apart as wives who cannot stand the prevailing abject poverty have left their husbands.
“Many of the workers have lost their reputation as responsible parents because they are unable to meet the financial needs of their families.”
He said government must seriously consider injecting working capital into the industry to enhance operation.
“The government must expedite action on possible divestiture of the company to a reliable investor of good standing.”
The Chief of Akwatia, Nana Osabarima Kofi Boateng called for change in management and the board overhauled.
He described as unfortunate the absence of a representative from the area on the board of GCD from time immemorial, saying, “Several petitions over the years have yielded no results.”
He said the company’s security is porous and are unable to take action against illegal miners. Nana Akwatiahene appealed to factions involved in the divestiture of GCD to do away with individual interests in order to attract right investors.
“GCD is the only mine and diamond mine belonging to government so the must take a critical look at it. If GCD should get the right capital like Anglogold Ashanti, it will prevent it from total collapse.”
He pledged the traditional authority’s readiness to collaborate with government to source investors to revive the company. Conspicuously absent from the press briefing were members of the management of GCD.
In fact, most of the workers complained about the adamant stance by the management in finding solutions, since the beginning of their predicament.
The community alleged that some individuals are engaged in illegal mining, (galamsey) in the area, which they said is a major hindrance to getting an investor to revitalize the company.
“Those people are deliberately sabotaging any attempts to save the company in order to continue with their illegal operations.”
The townsfolk also alleged that some of the illegal miners performed rituals by burying a live bull near the Birim River, after consulting a ‘juju man’ to prevent any investor from showing interest in the company.
For many years GCD’s large –scale mining production eclipsed artisanal diamond mining in Ghana. While there has been a steady decline in total diamond mining production in Akwatia over the past decades, small- scale diamond mining has increased exponentially in the area.
The primary driving force for the increase in artisanal mining activities in Akwatia was that GCD sold its mine concession to small-scale up miners. Besides that there are problems with illicit mining in the town.
Collapse of GCD,Akwatia youth sacked from school for non-payment of fees
Majority of children of workers of the defunct Ghana Consolidated Diamonds Ltd. have been sacked from school for non-payment of fees. Several of these children who are at senior secondary level were not allowed to take part in the recent promotion examinations for non-payment of fees.
The situation is said to be breaking the moral fibre of the Akwatia community. “Parents are unable to control their children because they are unable to meet their needs. Pre-marital sex is common and if not checked could lead to increase in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases,” a worker told Public Agenda.
About 806 workers of GCD, currently on divestiture have not been paid for the past seven months. This paper learnt that some workers the started selling their personal belongings to survive. Others have also attempted suicide on several occasions.
An affected child, Faustina Anaafi, an SSS 2 student said she and her twin sister were sacked from school because their father could not pay their fees. Amidst tears, she said her twin sister is currently pregnant, while their mother had left the home to seek greener pastures.
“We are the future leaders of Ghana and so we are appealing to government to come to the aid of our fathers to enable them cater for us.” Benedicta Baade, a home economics student had a similar story to tell.
She said she was sacked from school because she could neither pay her fees nor partake in practical lessons. Recently, wives of the distressed workers stormed Nana Akwatiahene’s palace to plead with him to intervene to get their husbands salaries paid.
They appealed to the chief to urge government to speed up the divestiture of the company. The chief was said to have shed tears when the women presented their case on behalf of their husbands.
The GCD Hospital, a subsidiary of the company established to serve the health care needs of the company’s workers, their dependants and the entire community, does not operate effectively as it used to.
This is because hospital staff have not been paid as well. Consequently, health delivery services are being hampered with medical personnel threatening to seek greener pastures. GCD had historically provided potable drinking water to residents of Akwatia.
But currently, one out of the four water pumping machines is said to be functioning as the three have broken down, resulting in intermittent water supply.
The townsfolk said even the water that flows is untreated since the company cannot afford to purchase chemicals for water treatment.
This has led to an increase in water borne diseases like cholera and typhoid. A case study on mining, sustainable development and health on Akwatia in March 2004 revealed that in 2001, diarrhoea disease was the 2nd leading cause of outpatient morbidity in Kwaebiriem District, only behind malaria.At the same time, diarrhoea was not a significant cause of morbidity at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Akwatia, being the 12th ranking cause of outpatient morbidity at the hospital.
The community members and health officials in Akwatia explained that water borne diseases only started decreasing when the people began drinking bottled water at a great cost though.
The situation is said to be breaking the moral fibre of the Akwatia community. “Parents are unable to control their children because they are unable to meet their needs. Pre-marital sex is common and if not checked could lead to increase in teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases,” a worker told Public Agenda.
About 806 workers of GCD, currently on divestiture have not been paid for the past seven months. This paper learnt that some workers the started selling their personal belongings to survive. Others have also attempted suicide on several occasions.
An affected child, Faustina Anaafi, an SSS 2 student said she and her twin sister were sacked from school because their father could not pay their fees. Amidst tears, she said her twin sister is currently pregnant, while their mother had left the home to seek greener pastures.
“We are the future leaders of Ghana and so we are appealing to government to come to the aid of our fathers to enable them cater for us.” Benedicta Baade, a home economics student had a similar story to tell.
She said she was sacked from school because she could neither pay her fees nor partake in practical lessons. Recently, wives of the distressed workers stormed Nana Akwatiahene’s palace to plead with him to intervene to get their husbands salaries paid.
They appealed to the chief to urge government to speed up the divestiture of the company. The chief was said to have shed tears when the women presented their case on behalf of their husbands.
The GCD Hospital, a subsidiary of the company established to serve the health care needs of the company’s workers, their dependants and the entire community, does not operate effectively as it used to.
This is because hospital staff have not been paid as well. Consequently, health delivery services are being hampered with medical personnel threatening to seek greener pastures. GCD had historically provided potable drinking water to residents of Akwatia.
But currently, one out of the four water pumping machines is said to be functioning as the three have broken down, resulting in intermittent water supply.
The townsfolk said even the water that flows is untreated since the company cannot afford to purchase chemicals for water treatment.
This has led to an increase in water borne diseases like cholera and typhoid. A case study on mining, sustainable development and health on Akwatia in March 2004 revealed that in 2001, diarrhoea disease was the 2nd leading cause of outpatient morbidity in Kwaebiriem District, only behind malaria.At the same time, diarrhoea was not a significant cause of morbidity at St. Dominic’s Hospital in Akwatia, being the 12th ranking cause of outpatient morbidity at the hospital.
The community members and health officials in Akwatia explained that water borne diseases only started decreasing when the people began drinking bottled water at a great cost though.
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