Africa-Press – Ghana. Ms. Dorcas Gakpetor, Project Officer at Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF-Ghana), has stressed the need to support women, especially those in rural communities to seek redress and hold duty bearers accountable in their actions.
She said empowering women was critical in promoting social justice and equity in communities.
Ms. Gakpetor was speaking at a training workshop organised by the WiLDAF-Ghana, for some select women at Anwiam, in the Obuasi East District of the Ashanti Region.
The training programme, which was under its five-year project “The Power of Voices for Partnership FAIR 4 ALL”, aimed at addressing global value chain inequalities and enhance accountability within industries, particularly in the mining, petroleum, and cocoa sectors.
The project is specifically focused on the Anwiam community within the Obuasi East District, which is situated in a major mining operation area and has documented human rights concerns.
Additionally, the organisation seeks to empower community members, particularly women, by replicating “social labs” where individuals are trained to articulate their rights and speak for themselves.
The project is being funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and is led by Oxfam in Ghana, with support from the Center for Social Impact Studies (CeSIS) and other partners.
Ms Gakpetor pointed out that, the training aimed at familiarizing community members with various access-to-justice mechanisms, including the police and the Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit (DOVVSU), for reporting issues such as sexual and gender-based violence.
She highlighted that a crucial component of the project involved identifying articulate, confident, and integrity-driven community members to spearhead local advocacy efforts.
She underscored the importance of supporting women in various communities to seek redress and holding both public and private sector actors accountable.
She noted that bolstering civil society was vital for exerting proper influence over budgetary processes, resulting in a more equitable distribution of benefits derived from petroleum and mineral resources.
She noted that fortifying civil society to advocate in mining communities was imperative for advancing women’s economic empowerment and safeguarding their rights.
Some of the women expressed happiness over the training and hoped that such initiatives would be conducted regularly in the area.
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