The Government and relevant stakeholders have been tasked to do more to ensure the protection of the rights of women and girls in compliance with the 1992 Constitution and other international instruments.
The Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) has also called on the Attorney-General to adopt the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill as a Government Bill and introduce it before the Nineth Parliament to be passed into law.
The Bill was initially introduced in the Eighth Parliament and was passed as a private Members Bill.
A statement signed by Dr Joseph Whittal, the CHRAJ Commissioner in Accra, issued to mark the International Women’s Day on Thursday, urged President John Dramani Mahama to throw his weight behind the Anti-Witchcraft Bill as he had promised to do to the Anti-LGBTQ
Bill and to promptly assent to it when passed by Parliament.
“This is much needed to ensure the human rights protection of especially vulnerable elderly women who are usually accused of witchcraft,” it said.
The International Women’s Day (IWD) is on the theme: “For All Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”
The theme focuses on unlocking equal rights, power and opportunities for all.
Another issue of crucial importance, the statement said, was the continuous abuse and violence meted out to alleged witches, as well as the deplorable state of witchcamps in the Northern and North East regions of Ghana.
It said the joy and hope that came with the passage of the Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill in July 2023 was short-lived, as the bill was not assented to by former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
“The Anti-witchcraft Bill has the intended purpose to criminalise the declaration, accusation, naming or labelling of another person as a witch, as well as the practice of witch-finders in Ghana,” the statement said.
“The assent of the bill into enforceable law, with criminal punishment of imprisonment will be very instrumental in addressing this age-old practice that unleashes violence and undermines the rights of women in Ghana.”
It appealed to the Government to make funds available for the effective implementation of Section 8 (3) of Domestic Violence Act, 2007, (Act 732) and to set up shelters for victims across the country as stipulated by the Domestic Violence Act.
Regarding the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act 2024, the Government and other relevant institutions were entreated to ensure that the provisions of the Law were translated into concrete actions and policies required to ensure its effective implementation.
The statement noted that women and girls still faced discrimination, violence and abuse in various forms.
“On the occasion of the commemoration of the 2025 IWD, it is important to draw the attention of the Government and relevant stakeholders to these human rights violations affecting more than half of the population of Ghana.”
“Global statistics paint a gloomy picture…Almost one in every three women have experienced physical and/or intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both, at a point in their lives.”
“These figures are reflected in Ghana,” the statement added, quoting the Ghana Statistical Service as saying that, “about 24.4% of women between 15-49 years experience intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence at least once in their lifetime.”
Also, 19.2 per cent of ever-partnered women aged 15-49 years experience intimate partner physical and/or sexual violence.
The Government of Ghana, as signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Beijing Declaration has instituted some laws, policies and programmes towards gender equality in Ghana.
The passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act 2024 is a major feat towards the
promotion of gender equality in the political, social, economic, educational, and cultural spheres of society, by addressing the systemic barriers that have hindered the progress of women in Ghana.
“Despite the significant improvement this new policy development brings to enhancing gender equality and women empowerment in the country, more needs to be done to ensure sustainable development with regards to gender equality in Ghana,” CHRAJ said.
Intimate partner and sexual violence, which were identified as the most common forms of gender-based violence globally, affected one in three women in Ghana.
In other words, 27 to 30 per cent of Ghanaian women had suffered intimate partner violence. Closely
related to that was the inadequate financial allocation to the Domestic Violence
Fund and operational state-owned shelters for abused women around the country, the statement said.
It acknowledged the various regulations and initiatives implemented towards addressing gender inequality and women’s empowerment over the years.
“Regardless of this, women continue to face social, political, economic and cultural challenges. This keeps many women and girls trapped with their abusers with no means of escape.”
The IWD was first instituted by the United Nations on 8th March 1975 to officially promote gender equality and
recognise women’s achievements without regard to divisions; whether national, ethnic, cultural, economic or political.
GNA
