FIDA Facilitates women's access to justice

Tamale, Feb 14, GNA - The low level of education amongst women accounts more for their inability to access justice rather than tradition and the social values society places on them.

Mr. Charles Habiah, an associate member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), said because of the illiteracy rate among women they were ignorant of their rights and did not know that there were channels for them to seek redress against violations perpetrated against them.

Mr. Habiah said this at a four-day paralegal training workshop on improving women's access to justice for FIDA partners in northern Ghana. The workshop seeks to give skills training to some field officers on the basic laws and policies that address women's access to justice. Participants came from the Northern and Upper East regions. Madam Saratu Mahama, the FIDA Training Officer, said even though women form a greater percentage of the population and input significantly in the development process they remain marginalized and suffer violence and discrimination.

She expressed the hope that participants at the workshop after their training would use their new skills to bring the basic laws to the doorstep of women at the community level.