Visit alleged witch camps and assent to the anti-witchcraft bill now - ActionAid Ghana to Akufo-Addo

All over the world, women and girls suffer discrimination and violations of their human rights at every stage of their lives. Gender-based violence (GBV) or violence against women and girls (VAWG) has been described by many as a global pandemic that affects one in every three women during their lifetime.

Violence against women is deeply rooted in patriarchy and an imbalance of power, which often puts women at a disadvantage, making them vulnerable. The violence and discrimination suffered by women is a key barrier to the realisation of their rights and to the achievement of social justice. According to a World Bank statistic, 35 percent of women worldwide have experienced either physical or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence.

The statistics also show that globally, seven percent of women have been sexually assaulted by someone other than a partner, while 38 percent of murders committed against women are perpetrated by an intimate partner.

As elections draw near, ActionAid Ghana is concerned about the government’s sluggish attitude towards Ghana’s gender bills. In a quest to reecho the urgency for the law, ActionAid Ghana, on September 18, 2024, hosted experts from the human rights and social justice sectors to deliberate on the complexities of Ghana's Affirmative Action and Gender Equity Act 2024 and the pending Criminal and Other Offences Bill, which encapsulates punishments for individuals and groups who accuse, label, and violate women accused of witchcraft.

Leveraging the thought leadership series to discuss issues confronting women in Ghana, panellists were drawn from state legal institutions, human rights institutions, civil society advocates, and rights coalition groups.

The first-panel discussion on gender equality and Ghana's affirmative action and gender equality bill was led by the women’s rights and campaign manager, Eugenia Ayagiba, Madam Susan Aryeetey, the acting executive director for FIDA Ghana, and the executive director of Abantu for Development, Dr. Rose Mensah-Kutin, who elaborated on the challenges faced by women and the need for the bill to be assented.

Speaking as a panellist, Honourable Francis Xavier Sosu underscored the need for the government to, as a matter of urgency, visit the camps of the alleged witches. He explained that first-hand experience with these vulnerable victims will go a long way to better inform the President to appreciate the immediate need for the bill to be assented.

Madam Susan Aryeetey, the acting Executive Director of FIDA Ghana, also reiterated that the passage of the bill into law is a clear statement of Ghana's commitment to promoting human rights, especially the rights of women and children. She emphasised that the delay of the passage sent a disturbing message to international communities of Ghana's failure as a human rights and democratic country. "We look like a country with no respect for human rights."

Discussing the processes and implementation procedure for the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality Act 2024) law, panellists at the event called on government and policy influencers to strictly see to organisations' budget allocations at all levels to support the smooth running and monitoring of the Affirmative Action Law.

Furthermore, they called on the use of male allies to front the implementation of the Affirmative Action Act, stressing that "male allies are always involved in our work for gender equality, a proof of their backing."

Reacting to the news of the President assenting to the Affirmative Action Bill, Justin Bayor, the head of the program, commented that “as a social justice organisation, this is extremely good news. But more needs to be done in terms of implementation. The President delays in assenting to these two bills; the lives of women and girls are challenged by entrenched cultural practices like child marriages, domestic abuse, gender biases, witchcraft accusations, and the like.

The Thought Leader Series will examine how the bill will help eradicate this age-long menace. It will also send a wake-up call to all policymakers and legal advocates of the need to relentlessly fight for social justice. We are calling for institutions to leverage the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Bill to remedy age-long power imbalances and discrimination against women and girls."

The six-member panel headlined for the Thought Leadership Conversations were Lawyer Francis Xavier Sosu (MP for Madina, Lead Advocate of the Anti-Witchcraft Bill), Prof. John Azumah (Founding Executive Director, Sanneh Institute), Susan Aryeetey (Ag. Executive Director, Federation of Women Lawyers), Esther Boateng (Northern Regional Program Manager, ActionAid Ghana);

Dr. Rose Mensah Kutin (West Africa Regional Director, ABANTU For Development), and Eugenia Ayagibah (Women’s Rights Manager, ActionAid Ghana).

They sounded a clarion call on President @nakufoaddo to urgently assent to the Criminal Offences Amendment Bill NOW and visit the witch camps NOW!