ghananlpcommunity/ghana-gov-speeches-sentences huggingface dataset:
Thus it is, that the customary law of all ethnic groups in our kaleidoscope of ethnic groups is woven into enforceable law within Ghana’s Constitution The necessity for the involvement of women in peace building has never been in doubt.
The 2016 Africa Human Development Report observed that ‘ ’Only inclusive engagement of both women and men is likely to lead to sustainable peace, as wide representation will better ensure that the emerging peace is owned by both females and males, and their needs and perspectives are included ”.
In Ghana, our customary law structures has assisted with this position.
An extremely important category of women in almost all Ghanaian ethnic groups around whom justice and peace building has revolved for centuries are Queen Mothers.
Queen Mothers are highly respected and influential female leaders from royal lineage.
They play critical roles in promoting peace, resolving disputes, and safeguarding cultural heritage.
While chiefs are often the public face of leadership, the work of Chiefs is guided by the advice of their Queen mothers, the women with the ultimate word in who becomes a king or chief for most matrilineal communities.
The Queen Mothers, or Ahemaa assist with management of conflicts between families, communities and chiefdoms.
And when decision making gets tough, it is a well understood principle in Ghanaian customary law, that the wise lady is given the privilege of pronouncing the ultimate solution.
Through this usually unknown and unsung but structurally solid justice delivery system, the traditional courts of queen mothers and the judicial committees of our traditional councils and houses of chiefs absorb many of the disputes that could have clogged the courts.
They form a ring of justice delivery mechanisms around the courts with rules for recognition of their outcomes, such that decisions and settlements reached are enforceable in our formal court systems.
I am personally convinced that it is the strength of our customary justice structures that has stood against the fragilities of nation building that the colonial experience could have engendered.
While these ancient structures have provided a bedrock for the respect given to women’s voices, women’s involvement in the formal court system rose slowly from the early years in the march towards independence.
Justice Annie Jiagge, who is quoted as saying “ Injustice eats me internally.
I get very restless when I come in touch with it ”, was the first Ghanaian women to qualify as a lawyer, the first woman to become a judge in Ghana, and the first female president of the Ghanaian Court of Appeal.
After initially establishing a private practice upon her return to the Gold Coast after studying to be a lawyer, she quickly received one judicial appointment after another.
She was appointed as a Magistrate in 1953, a Circuit Court Judge in 1959, a Judge of the High Court in 1961 and to the Court of Appeal, then the highest court in Ghana, in 1969.
She became president of the Court of Appeal from 1980 until her retirement in 1983.
And then there is Justice Bamford-Addo who was the first female Justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana.
She served in that role from 1991 until 2004, when she retired voluntarily from the Supreme Court.
Following the 2008 presidential and parliamentary elections, she was elected unopposed as the Speaker of the Fourth Parliament of the Fourth Republic of Ghana.
Over these years, the numbers of women in the Judiciary grew slowly but steadily.
From this modest history of women’s involvement in the formal court system, and although it would seem that it took a long coming, Ghana now seems to be heading quite fast towards the tipping point when it comes to the contribution of women in formal justice delivery.
There is a significantly increasing representation of women in Ghana’s Judiciary, that cannot be ignored.
The past four years have seen a very definite shift in the number of Judges/Magistrates in the Judiciary.
In the 2022/2023 Legal Year, the Judiciary recorded a total of 218 females as compared to 138 females in 2019, signifying an increase of approximately 58% in the numbers of women who joined the Judiciary within the four year period.
While there are still more male Judges/Magistrates than women, the overall rate of increase of men in the Judiciary was a much lower 8% over the same four year period.
Ghana’s Judiciary is fast and strongly getting feminized.
And there is the recent trilogy of female Chief Justices– starting with Chief Justice Georgina Theodora Wood in 2007, after more than a century of having male Chief Justices, Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo in 2017 and myself in 2023.
As far as back as 2005, Ghana started her journey in the active introduction of court connected ADR mechanisms.
That modest effort bloomed under the watchful eyes of Chief Justices and today, most District and Circuit Courts have well fitted facilities with registered mediators to assist parties to resolve disputes through ADR.
Child friendly courts are being main streamed.
The resolution of commercial disputes through ADR facilities has been given particular attention within this matrix.
Of course, just as all is not doom and gloom, all is not bloom.
Women in law continue to face the challenge of sexism and the consistent specter of sexual harassment in the work place, including gendered bias and overt and subtle discriminations.
Cultural stereotyping and prejudices that undermine the abilities of women and their credibility as leaders is never far off the surface.
Equally challenging is the balancing of professional responsibilities with family obligations in a society that frowns on a choice not to have children, or to cook or clean when a professional is a woman.
Long working hours, demanding caseloads, and inflexible work environments may therefore affect the ability of women to manage their personal and professional lives effectively.
In spite of these challenges I have recounted, I am convinced without a shadow of doubt that the critical role that Ghanaian women play in justice and peace building can only keep growing in prominence.
The achievements of women as social leaders, and leaders in restorative or retributive justice, cannot be dimmed.
So within the limited time available tonight, I am glad to report that Ghana is a community in which the voices of women in justice delivery have always been present and heard.
The voices of women have been used for good.
The voices of women over the centuries, and to date, have helped to create a resilient national fabric as strong as our kente, as subtly indicative of restorative peace building as the mpatampo, and as forward looking as the symphony of the adinkra language.
On Monday 8 th April 2024, I presented a vision statement to the nation that is premised on building strong pillars of law, ethics, assets and digitalization for justice delivery.
And I am looking forward with all confidence that Ghana’s partnership with the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution can only grow stronger as we weave the tapestry of justice and peace building together.
[1] April 13, 2024, California State University, Sacramento Prev Next
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES (IAWJ) 18 TH AFRICA REGIONAL CONFERENCE OPENING CEREMONY Date: 13 MAY 2024 VENUE: LABADI BEACH HOTEL, ACCRA-GHANA THEME: ‘COMBATING NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES- THE ROLE OF WOMEN JUDGES’ Welcome Address: Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana Your Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President of the Republic of Ghana Her Ladyship Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice of the Supreme Court and President of the Local Organising Committee for this Conference Her Ladyship Justice Cyra Pamela C. A. Koranteng, Justice of the Court of Appeal and Judicial Secretary Hon.
Attorney-General and Minister for Justice Hon.
Justice Binta Nyako, President of the IAWJ Executive Director IAWJ, Ms.
Christie Jones Hon.
Justice Roli Harriman: Regional Director, IAWJ, West and South Africa Hon.
Justice Henrietta Wolanyo: Regional Director, IAWJ, Central and East Africa Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu, President, IAWJ, Ghana Presidents of the various Chapters herein present It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all delegates to Accra for the 18 th Africa Regional Conference of the International Association of Women Judges.
We are very honored to have you here with us.
Preparing for you has been a labor of love and the Judiciary of Ghana is absolutely to the Local Organizing Community for the sacrifices and services that have made today possible.
I want to assure you that everything has been done to make the conference and your stay a pleasant and memorable experience.
We are especially grateful to His Excellency the President for the strong support we have received from the Office of the President.
The culmination of this support is the presence of His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who will be officially opening this 5-day conference.
A lawyer and champion of justice, the President’s name is definitely etched in the legal history of this country as a most distinguished legal practitioner.
His belief in the Rule of Law has been evident during his tenure and the Judicial Service of Ghana has been a happy beneficiary of exceptional levels of physical, and technological infrastructure during this period.
I also thank the International Association of Women Judges Africa for granting Ghana hosting rights for this year 2024.
It is a duty that we welcomed with joy.
Our greatest hope is that we are able to provide a platform for a robust exchange of ideas that will spur change and innovation in our various jurisdictions after we leave here, using the force of law to combat negative cultural practices, and our role as women Judges, as forces for change.
Over the course of this conference, we shall have the opportunity to interact and share with each other about what rules, regulations and best practices effectively aid judicial processes to combat negative cultural practices, and how we can bring new ideas and perspectives to our work.
We will have the chance to learn, grow and become better apprised with only one goal – that more people than ever before, particularly women and children and the vulnerable in our individual societies, can be assured of justice whenever sociological norms and community cultures clashe with the law.
This goal is at the core of IAWJ as an association.
The IAWJ remains a vital mechanism through which we can explore varying collaborative thoughts to improve justice delivery in all countries.
While we expect this week to be one of learning and sharing, I am particularly looking forward to the conviviality, building and strengthening of bonds that will definitely occur.
In the last few months and weeks, I have had the intense pleasure of meeting with and bonding with sister judges from Abuja, Banjul and Liberia.
While you are here, I must commend to you the many attractions that our nation has.
For nature lovers, it is a land of lakes, rivers, lagoons, hills, and water falls.
For food lovers, there is a palate rejuvenating buffet of vegetables, fruits, rice dishes, corn dishes, meats, fish, and beans.
We have extraordinary sauces, soups, and blends of carbohydrate harvests.
And of course, there is the music, fashion, kaleidoscope of fabrics, theater and the simple joys of peace.
Accra is the soul stirring capital that many of us call home and I invite you to soak it in.
I wish the Africa Chapter of IAWJ all a most successful conference.
Thank you again for coming, and Akwaaba.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF WOMEN JUDGES (IAWJ) 18 TH AFRICA REGIONAL CONFERENCE OPENING CEREMONY Date: 13 MAY 2024 VENUE: LABADI BEACH HOTEL, ACCRA-GHANA THEME: ‘COMBATING NEGATIVE CULTURAL PRACTICES- THE ROLE OF WOMEN JUDGES’ Keynote Address: Her Ladyship Justice Gertrude Sackey Torkornoo, Chief Justice of the Republic of Ghana Her Ladyship Justice Mariama Owusu, Justice of the Supreme Court and President of the Local Organising Committee for this Conference Her Ladyship Justice Cyra Pamela C. A. Koranteng, Justice of the Court of Appeal and Judicial Secretary Hon.
Justice Henrietta Wolanyo: Regional Director, IAWJ, Central and East Africa Her Ladyship Justice Rita Agyeman-Budu, President, IAWJ, Ghana Presidents of the various Chapters herein present Members of the various Chapters herein present Let me express my heartfelt gratitude to the International Association of Women Judges (Africa Region) for the honor of the invitation to deliver the keynote address on the theme ‘ Combating Negative Cultural Practices – the Role of Women Judges ’, chosen for this 18 th Regional Conference here in Accra.
Associations such as IAWJ are crucial to the success of our work as Judges, because they supply the motivation, encouragement and flow of exchanges of ideas and experiences that help all jurisdictions to absorb best practices developed around the world.
I trust that this conference will provide opportunities for inspiration, elucidation and strengthening of concepts that will enable us return to our work with new energy, new passion and new ideas to strengthen justice delivery in all of our jurisdictions.
Let me begin my address, with an extract from a feature article published in September 2022 on Graphic Online , which is the online portal of the Daily Graphic newspaper, the most widely read news daily in Ghana.
The article was titled, “ A day in the life of kayayei: The struggles, misery of Bintu, Ramatu ’.
It tells the sorry story about the daily travail of two head porters, in the heart of Ghana’s capital city, Accra.
Bintu Mohammed, 38, was a native of Savelugu in the Northern Region, who had been in the head porter (kayayei) business for over two decades.
She escaped from forced marriage and got to Accra in 2001, and went into this business for her livelihood.
Now a mother of three, Bintu continued to break her back with heavier loads to fend for her children.
According to the President of the Kayayei Youth Association (KYA), Mohammed Osman, about 35,000 kayayei operate in five commercial cities in the country - Accra, Kumasi, Tamale, Techiman and Ho.
Their ages range from 10 to 40.
Many of them have fled from forced marriages and poverty and move into cities for the social anonymity that protects them from exploitation, as well as the opportunity for jobs and better living standards.
The life of the kayayo is often expressed in the sight of a young female with babies strapped to her back, who goes through daily drudgery for uncertain reward.
From dawn to dusk, they scavenge markets and other business enclaves of Accra to cart heavy loads.
At the end of each day, Bintu is completely drained.
In her own words, “ As I stand now, my knees and waist ache badly.
I have to buy painkillers at the end of every day so that I can work the following day, ” she said.
Unlike the earlier years, Bintu said she could barely make GH¢30, a paltry US$3 then, because the Kayayei numbers had increased forcing them to accept very low tokens for their services.
As the proceeds from the Kayayei business continue to dwindle, Bintu has to also grapple with accommodation challenges. “
I live in the Old Fadama slum.
We were 10 in a room but four left, so we are now six.
We all pay GH¢10 per week.
It is difficult to pay this rent because things are bad ,” she said.
Another head porter, Ramatu Mohammed, 17, a graduate of Nyankpala Islamic Junior High School in Tamale, said she did not continue her education to Senior High School because her father could not provide for her. “
I arrived in Accra six months ago to engage in kayayei so that I can raise some money to buy a sewing machine and other stuff required for a passing-out ceremony ,” she said.
Ramatu perches with seven others in a wooden structure along the Korle Lagoon at Old Fadama. “
We pay GH¢10 each week.
Anytime you do not pay the rent, you are ejected, so you sleep outside ,” she said.
The story of Bintu and Ramatu, while situated in Accra, opens a window into the vortex of the effect of many negative cultural practices, prevalent across the face of our continent, which undermine quality of life, and cause irreparable harm to the weak and vulnerable in our societies, particularly women and the girl child.
Work place exploitation, child marriage, domestic violence, stereotyping such women carrying a larger burden at home, kayayei, forced migration, orange girls, From virginity testing, child marriages, forced marriages, female genital mutilation, domestic and gender based violence, work place exploitation, stereotyping that leads to more exploitation in every social context, including domestic arrangements that compel women to carry a larger burden in marriage, widowhood rites, widow inheritance, persecution of people living with disabilities – the list is endless – hardly any African country is spared the scourge of unwholesome practices that have assailed our societies for centuries and continue to be widespread and prevalent into the 21 st Century.
In Ghana the 2010 Demographic and Health Survey reported that 36.6% of women had experienced physical violence by the age of 15.
About one in four Ghanaian women have suffered physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner (UN Women, 2022).
The Ghana Police Service reported 16,000 cases of domestic violence in 2020 (GBC Ghana online, 2022a; Ghanaian Times, 2022; B&FT online, 2022) – almost certainly an under-estimate of the problem, as many cases of gender-based violence go unreported by victims who distrust the legal system or fear stigmatisation or retribution.
Indeed Police and scholars agree that the true extent of Gender Based Violence is unknown because many attacks on girls and women are never reported.
Reasons include fear of the attacker, fear of a negative response by others, perceived stigma for families, or the belief that the authorities won’t take the case seriously (Palermo, Bleck, & Peterman, 2014).
Similarly, Female genital mutilation (FGM) which is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the practice of cutting parts or complete removal of female external genitalia for cultural reasons continues to be a practice in 28 African nations, representing more than half of the continent.
Indeed, statistics show that each year, no less than three million females are circumcised.
There are many short and long-term complications associated with the practice of FGM.
Immediate complications include psychological trauma, hemorrhage, shock, very severe pain, impaired wound healing, increased exposure to blood, and transmittable infections such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis B – a direct result of applying the same knife to different victims during the procedure.
Long-term complications include chronic infections of the genital tract, reproductive tract and urinary tract, difficulties during menstruation, and what should have been normal conjugal relations during marriage.
Interestingly, studies on economic status show that women from families with economic power and women exposed to higher education, are less likely to be subjected to the majority of these negative cultural practices that persist on the continent of Africa.
Many of the named and unnamed cultural practices that affect the health and quality of life of women thrive strongest in poverty and illiteracy.
So how can we as women Judges contribute effectively to the need to combat negative cultural practices?
Let me propose that we keep in view the intricate linkages between all parts of human life.
In Chapter 6 of Ghana’s 1992 Constitution , these linkages are highlighted in the Directive Principles of State Policy .
Between article 34 to 41 , the principles for achieving the nation’s political objectives, economic objectives, social objectives, educational objectives, cultural objectives, objectives of Ghana’s international relations, and duties of citizens are set out with the kind of clarity that should assist every Judge to weave the philosophies behind them into every judgment, in order to achieve the type of society the Constitution caters for.
Allow me to quote from article 39 (2) on cultural objectives, which is particularly germane to the discussions of this conference: ‘ The State shall ensure that appropriate customary and cultural values are adapted and developed as an integral part of the growing needs of the society as a whole; and in particular, that traditional practices which are injurious to the health and well being of the person are abolished .’
These principles should help guide decisions in the soft places that hard law has not spoken.
Second, it is clear that, the stronger the protection of human rights within a community, the more attractive it is as an investment destination.
The more assertive in efficiency, integrity, and transparency that a justice delivery system is, the more attractive it is as an investment destination for citizens, foreigners and every vehicle of business creation.
Judges therefore an in prime place to apply the law in a manner that sends a signal of abhorrence of every form of exploitation, including the promotion of human rights and protection of women from harmful cultural and traditional practices.
By virtue of the unique position we hold in our society, Judges exert influence that will always be a force for good.
The nature of the judicial career provides knowledge of the socio-cultural topography of the national environment and the communities in which we work, which is useful raw material for contributing thought to other policy makes on how to combat and eradicate harmful cultural practices.
Additionally, in our various Judiciaries, our voice as a powerful caucus should be strong in the advocacy for the introduction and implementation of policies that promote the rights of women and the vulnerable in the society.
Our numbers and voice must count for something in shaping social direction and institutions.
It is noteworthy that steadily, the representation of women on the Ghanaian Bench keeps increasing.
Ghana has seen a significant increase in the number of Judges/Magistrates in the Judiciary over the past 4 years.
In 2019, the Judiciary recorded a total of 138 females.
By 2022/2023 Legal Year, this number had appreciated to 218, signifying an increase of approximately 58% within the 4 year period.
While there are still more Male Judges/Magistrates than women, this rate of increase is encouraging for gender parity in the coming years.
The contribution to the fight against domestic and gender based violence of Ghana’s Judiciary led to the establishment of Child Friendly Gender Based Violence Courts across the country as a special division of the District Court, the first of which was inaugurated in Accra in 2018 by my predecessor Chief Justice Sophia A.B.
Akuffo.
Their establishment was borne out of the unfortunate fact that children and minors had to sometimes encounter the judicial system as witnesses to a crime, victims or sometimes, as accused persons.
This necessitated that are treated in a manner protective of their unique vulnerabilities and conditions as children.
These special courts are fitted to accommodate the special physical, developmental and emotional requirements of children, and to protect them from any trauma occasioned by the judicial system.
The courts have customised furniture for the specific use and conditions of children in a play area that has books and toys while they wait to join court proceedings.
They also have, most critically, a victim evidence room that prevents children from having contact with the accused persons during their testimony.
The courts also make use of Information and Communication Technology to ease and speed up the court process.
With these facilities, the judicial system is able to minimise re-traumatisation of child victims and witnesses that can occur during the quest to seek justice.
It is also able to eliminate the questioning of children in inappropriate conditions.
Other added benefits have been the strengthening of relevant stakeholders to handle children and investigations, more efficient court processes in gender-based cases and the speedy and confidential resolution of sexual crimes against children.