Empowering Women to Combat Corruption and Promote Transparency
The Awutu–Senya East Municipal Directorate of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) recently organized a Town Hall engagement session aimed at women’s groups. The event focused on the rule of law and the fight against corruption, taking place in Kasoa and drawing around 90 participants. These women included dressmakers, hairdressers, traders, representatives from faith-based and community-based organizations, individuals with physical challenges, and young women.
This initiative is part of the Participation, Accountability and Integrity for a Resilient Democracy (PAIReD) program. The PAIReD program seeks to empower women by enhancing their understanding of the rule of law, civic rights, and legal frameworks such as the Whistleblower’s Act. It aims to strengthen their role in promoting transparency and accountability within their communities.
The PAIReD project was commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the European Union and the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). It is implemented by GIZ and the Ministry of Finance. The program focuses on empowering women to participate in building a more transparent and accountable Ghana. It also encourages them to expose individuals involved in all forms of corruption in society.
During the event, several important topics were discussed, including the Domestic Violence Act and the Right to Information Act. These discussions aimed to help women advocate for their rights and contribute to national development.
Addressing Systemic Challenges Faced by Women
In an open forum, participants shared their experiences, including extortion through illegal levies, sexual harassment in exchange for services, which undermined their dignity, and issues of poverty and inequality. These challenges highlight the need for stronger support systems and awareness among women.
Mrs. Mary Ankrah, the Municipal Director of the NCCE, emphasized the critical role women play in local development. Despite serving as caregivers, businesswomen, and community leaders, their efforts significantly contribute to the socio-economic development of the Awutu-Senya Municipality. She stressed that strengthening women’s understanding of their civic rights, legal protections, and available reporting mechanisms is crucial for building resilient communities capable of resisting corruption.
She also highlighted the importance of empowering women to understand their civic rights and responsibilities in the fight against corruption. This empowerment would strengthen democratic governance and address injustices, enabling women to resist corruption, promote transparency, and actively engage in accountability processes.
Women’s Rights and Vulnerability
Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Doris Laryea, Central East Police Command DOVVSU Coordinator, addressed the topic of Women’s Rights and Vulnerability and Domestic Violence during her presentation. She underscored the importance of integrity in both public service and community life. She expressed concern about the systemic barriers women face, including limited access to education, economic inequality, and underrepresentation in governance and decision-making spaces.
These issues, she noted, heighten women’s vulnerability to corruption and abuse of power when they are coerced into offering favours or bribes in workplaces, communities, and even institutions designed to protect them, just to access their basic rights. She urged women to be patriotic citizens in all their endeavors, emphasizing that women’s rights are human rights.
“It is time as women to be patriotic citizens in all our endeavours since women’s rights are woman rights, stand-up to say enough is enough, to resist all forms of abuse and corruption and to be bold to report persons into such acts who are with us in the society to the security agencies and our identity will be protected,” she added.
Legal Perspectives on Corruption and Anti-Corruption Laws
Ms. Victoria Homiah, a legal practitioner, provided insights on Corruption and Anti-Corruption Laws in Ghana. She encouraged women to be patriotic citizens in all their endeavors, highlighting that women’s rights are human rights. She emphasized the importance of empowering women to understand their civic rights and responsibilities in the fight against corruption to strengthen the country’s democratic governance.
“Strengthening women’s understanding of their civic rights, legal protections, and available reporting mechanisms was crucial to building resilient communities that could resist corruption and injustice.”
She pointed out that corruption, the abuse of trusted power for private gain, disproportionately affects women, creating barriers to essential services like justice, healthcare, education, and economic opportunities, leaving them vulnerable to coercion and exploitation.
“Relevant legal frameworks such as the Whistleblower’s Act, the Right to Information Act, and the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act are there to tackle corruption. The need for us, the citizenry, to take vital steps to explore and utilize them by identifying, resisting, and being bold to report all related crimes, including extortion and sexual harassment, to help free us from discrimination and violence and to make Ghana a corrupt-free country,” she added.