(30/03/09)

Story: Jennifer Donoo & Francis Yaw Kyei

THE Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mrs Betty Mould Iddrisu, has called on political parties and other institutions to encourage women to take up leadership positions in societies.
She said Ghanaian women had the ability to be the President, ministers of state or lead any reputable institution when encouraged, financed or given any other form of assistance.
Mrs Iddrisu, who made this call at the annual get-together of African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) challenged women not to see themselves as inferior to their male counterparts and strive to achieve their goals.
“We need women in decision making and all levels of governance in this country,” she said and called on women to wake up and change the anomaly.
Eventhough she admitted that leadership positions were challenging, she urged women not to allow the challenges to overcome their quest to be who they want to be.
She expressed commitments to work to champion the rights of access to justice for women because the law was designed to protect them.
“The laws of this land was designed to champion and protect the rights of women, I will work hard and make a qualitative difference in the administration of justice in the country,” she said.
Mrs Iddrisu also lamented on the current state of the legal aid scheme and called on the Judiciary to help to effectively operationalise the scheme.
She said every individual in the country had the right to an attorney and a fair trial and urged lawyers to help implement the scheme effectively.
The Executive Director of AWLA, Ms Edna Kuma said AWLA, since its inception in 1999, had helped improved the access to justice for women by networking with organisations and institutions to enhance the status of women in Africa.
She said AWLA had helped removed negative cultural, traditional and religious practices which impeded the total development of women and enhance the inclusion of women in decision making.
“In the last ten years, AWLA has embarked on a number of advocacy and training programmes and other activities to achieve its aims and objectives,” she said.
Present at the get-together were female lawyers, notable among them was Nana Oye Luther, a women’s rights activist.