Why Ghana

Compared to many other African countries, Ghana is relatively stable. Nevertheless, 44.8% of the population live on less than $1 a day.

Although Ghana recently qualified for debt relief under the World Bank Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative, there are concerns that Ghana’s economic policies do not specifically address gender issues, and the disadvantages facing women.

Fact file

Over 54% of women in the poorest regions of Ghana’s capital, Accra, have experienced domestic violence
23% of married women in Ghana are thought to be in polygamous unions
Literacy amongst women is at 60%, compared to 78% of men
The median age at first marriage for women is 19 years
The maternal mortality rate has been estimated at 214 per 100,000 live births
Just under 5% of Ghana’s adult population is HIV positive

Women are disproportionately affected by poverty. Women in rural areas are particularly disadvantaged by lack of access to land, credit and new technology. In urban areas, men continue to occupy the majority of positions in the shrinking formal sector, and women are mainly to be found in the informal sector, where income and work conditions are far less stable.

Although women have equal status with men in law, Ghana, like many African countries, operates a pluralistic legal system, and in certain areas statutory law operates side by side with traditional customary law. Under customary systems, men take precedence in matters such as divorce, property and inheritance rights. In addition, traditional practices such as bride price, polygamy, surrogate marriages and widow inheritance leave women with little power over their own lives.

Some positive steps to address inequalities between men and women have been taken by the Ghana government and NGOs. For example, practices such as female genital mutilation, forced marriage, and ‘trokosi’, in which young girls are forced into slavery to atone for offences committed by their relatives, have recently been criminalized. However, official condemnation has not translated into legislation or the implementation of policies to eliminate these practices, particularly in rural communities.

The New Patriotic Party (NPP) has spent over four years in office in Ghana, and has earned respect for its orderly rule and economic, health and education policies. However, women’s rights organizations are growing disillusioned with what they see as the failure of the NPP to keep its promises to women, such as the introduction of affirmative action measures to increase women’s participation in politics. For example, there are currently only 19 women in a parliament of 200 members.

Women’s rights organizations are also calling on the government to show a greater commitment to issues affecting women, such as domestic violence and representation in decision-making bodies, and to formulate a comprehensive gender policy to guide the overall work of government.