Speak up against sexual harassment – Muslim Executive Foundation urges ladies

Muslim Executive Foundation, a nongovernmental organization has encouraged women in the country to speak up against any form of sexual harassment and domestic violence in the country.

A great percentage of women in Ghana, especially in schools and workplaces suffer from one form of sexual harassment or another which the foundation describes as unfortunate.

"We condemn all forms of sexual harassment carried out on women, in Ghana, Africa, and the world at large" says Fadila Adam, a representative of the foundation’s women’s wing.

"Ghana education service should as a matter of urgency put structures in place to help victims of sexual harassment especially students." She adds.

The foundation also wants lawmakers to enact laws that will spell out severe punishment for culprits of sexual harassment.

Fadila Adam was speaking at the foundation's workshop on sexual hygiene and harassment for female students of Nurul Ameen Senior High School at Asawase in the Asokore Mampong Municipal Assembly of the Ashanti region.

The workshop was necessary due to recent cases of sexual harassment in senior high schools in the country.

Though, there are no available statistics to show levels of sexual harassment in the country, the reports of the situation increases by the day.

It is estimated that, not less than 75 percent of the world's 2.7 billion women aged 18 years and older, or at least 2 billion women, have been sexually harassed.



In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that 35 percent of women, or approximately 930 million women, have experienced physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.

WHO considers this level of violence against women a major public health problem as well as a serious violation of the human rights of women.