Accra: The Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC), in partnership with the Department of Gender, has initiated a significant engagement with Ga Traditional leaders aimed at ending harmful cultural practices affecting women and girls. These practices include child marriage, widowhood rites, inheritance issues, breast ironing, witchcraft accusations, and, increasingly due to migration, female genital mutilation (FGM), among other forms of gender-based violence.
According to Ghana News Agency, the engagement, funded by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), sought to sensitize participants on their pivotal role in eliminating these detrimental practices. The meeting brought together chiefs, queen mothers, and priests from the Ga Traditional Council to raise awareness and develop strategies to eliminate harmful practices while promoting human rights and positive cultural values.
Madam Lilian Baeka, the Chief Director of GARCC, in a speech delivered on her behalf, emphasized that harmful practices impede both social and economic progress and perpetuate discrimination. She urged traditional leaders to evolve cultural norms that uplift rather than oppress, calling for collaboration between the Ministry and RCC to reinforce positive customs and eliminate regressive ones.
Referencing the Maputo Protocol, Madam Juliana Abbeyquaye, the Eastern Regional Director of the Department of Gender, asserted that women have the right to live in a positive cultural context and participate in determining cultural policies. She criticized traditional norms that reinforce male dominance and gender inequality, pointing out that some practices are evolving in ways that deny women and children the right to consent.
Madam Abbeyquaye called on traditional authorities to stand against such practices and advocated for assessments to distinguish cultural practices that support development, emphasizing the importance of education and community interpretation in preserving positive values.
Madam Matilda Banfro, the Greater Accra Regional Director of Gender, highlighted that harmful practices are deeply rooted in tradition, religion, and societal norms, making them challenging to overcome. She noted that while traditional leaders are well-placed to influence change, a lack of active engagement and accountability contributes to the persistence of these issues. She also pointed out that reports of FGM in the region are largely linked to migrant communities rather than the indigenous Ga population.
Tatse Nii Laryea Akwetei X, Nungua Katamanso Mantse, expressed concern over the failure of institutions to promote moral development at the grassroots level and urged fellow traditional leaders to be innovative and learn from positive examples in other cultures.
