STATEMENTBYHON.

MI NISTER,OTI
KO AFI
SAH DJABA,MINISTERFOR
GENDER,CHILDREN AND SOCIAL PROTECTI
ON DURING THE 10TH
NATIONAL WIDOWS ALLI
ANCE CONFERENCE ( NAWAC) AT GHANA
RD
I
NTERNATIONALTRADEFAIRCENTRELA,ON23 JUNE, 2018
THECHAI
RPERSONFORTHEOCCASI
ON,
EXECUTI
VESOFWANEOFMZF,
I
NVI
TEDGUESTS,
MEMBERSOFWANE,
FRI
ENDSFROM THEMEDI
A
LADI
ESANDGENTLEMEN.

Iam del
i
ght
ed t
o be par
toft
his speci
alNat
ionalWi
dows Al
l
iance
Conf
erenceor
gani
zedbyNet
wor
kofWi
dowsi
nGhanaaspar
toft
he
act
ivi
ti
es t
o mar
kthe cel
ebr
ati
on oft
he Uni
ted Nat
ions I
nter
nat
ional
Wi
dowsDay
.

I
nter
nat
ionalWi
dows Day
 i
s a 
Uni
ted Nat
ions 
rat
if
ied dayofact
ion t
o
addr
ess t
he "
pov
ert
y and i
njust
ice f
aced by mi
l
li
ons of
 wi
dows 
and
t
hei
r 
dependent
s i
nmanycount
ri
es"
.Thedayt
akespl
aceannual
l
yon23
June.The I
nter
nat
ionalWi
dows Daywas est
abl
i
shed by
 The Loomba
Foundat
ion t
orai
se awar
eness oft
he i
ssue ofwi
dowhood.On 21
December2010,t
heUni
tedNat
ionsGener
alAssembl
yfor
mal
l
yadopt
ed
23rdJuneasI
nter
nat
ionalWi
dowsDay
,endor
singbyunani
mousaccl
aima
pr
oposali
ntr
oducedbyPr
esi
dent
 Al
iBongoOndi
mba 
of 
Gabon.Aswel
las
f
ormal
l
yrecogni
zi
ng23Juneasadayofobser
vance,t
heaccompany
ing
r
esol
uti
oncal
l
edupon"
MemberSt
ates,t
heUni
tedNat
ionssy
stem and
ot
heri
nter
nat
ionalandr
egi
onalor
gani
zat
ionst
ogi
vespeci
alat
tent
iont
o
t
hesi
tuat
ionofwi
dowsandt
hei
rchi
l
dren.
TheChai
r,accor
dingt
heUNSecr
etar
yGener
al,BanKi
-Moon“NoWoman
shoul
dloseherst
atus,
li
vel
i
hoodorpr
oper
tywhenherhusbanddi
es”
.

I
tiscommoni
nmanycommuni
ti
esi
nGhanat
hatwi
dowhoodr
epr
esent
sa
"
soci
aldeat
h"f
orwomen.I
tisnotj
ustt
hatt
heyhav
elostt
hei
rhusbands,
t
hemai
nbr
eadwi
nnerandsuppor
teroft
hei
rchi
l
dren,butwi
dowhoodr
obs
t
hem oft
hei
rst
atusandconsi
gnst
hem t
othev
erymar
ginsofsoci
ety
wher
etheysuf
fert
hemostext
remef
ormsofdi
scr
imi
nat
ionandst
igma.

Chai
rper
son,
iti
snor
mal
l
ybel
i
evedt
hatunmar
ri
edwomenar
ethepr
oper
ty
andundert
hecont
roloft
hei
rfat
her
s;mar
ri
edwomenbel
ongt
othei
r
husbands.Wi
dowsar
einl
i
mboandnol
ongerhav
eanypr
otect
or.Many
wi
dows ar
e among t
he poor
estoft
he poorand mor
eli
kel
ytof
ace
har
assment
,abuse,expl
oit
ati
on and deni
aloft
hei
rri
ght
sto pr
oper
ty
because t
hei
rli
ves ar
eli
kel
yto be det
ermi
ned by l
ocalpat
ri
archal
i
nter
pret
ati
onsoft
radi
ti
on,
cust
om,
andr
eli
gion.

I
nmanycommuni
ti
esi
nGhana,somewi
dowsbecomeout
cast
sandar
e
of
tenv
ulner
abl
etophy
sical
,sexual
,andment
alabuse.I
tasi
ftheyar
e
r
esponsi
blef
ort
hei
rhusband'
sdeat
handmustbemadet
osuf
ferf
ort
he
cal
ami
tyf
ort
her
estoft
hei
rli
vesonear
th.I
ndeed,
iti
snotuncommonf
ora
wi
dow i
n Ghana t
o be accused ofhav
ing mur
der
ed herhusband,f
or
exampl
e,byusi
ngwi
tchcr
aft
.Ther
efor
e,t
hegr
iefexper
iencedbywi
dowsi
s
notj
ustt
hesadnessofber
eav
ementbutt
her
eal
i
zat
ionoft
hel
ossoft
hei
r
posi
ti
on i
nthe f
ami
l
y whi
ch,i
n many cases,r
esul
tsi
nthei
rut
ter
abandonment
,dest
it
uti
on,
anddi
s-honour
.

Pat
ri
oti
cWomenofGhana,
Widowhoodhasabr
utalandi
rr
evocabl
eimpact
on a wi
dow'
s chi
l
dren,especi
all
ythe gi
rlchi
l
d.Ghanai
an wi
dows ar
e
r
out
inel
yaccusedbyt
hecommuni
tyofhav
ingcausedt
hedeat
hoft
hei
r
husband,orev
enofl
i
ter
all
yki
l
li
ngt
hei
rhusbands.Thewi
dowhoodr
it
esi
n
manycaseshar
bourpr
act
icest
hati
nvol
veawi
dowpr
ovi
ngheri
nnocence.
Forexampl
e,shemaybemadet
osi
tonf
reshl
eav
esoront
hebar
efl
oor
al
mostnaked,eat
inganddr
inki
ngatt
hesamespotf
orday
sbutshoul
dan
antbi
teher
,thi
s'pr
oves'
thatshecausedt
hedeat
hofherhusband.Ot
her
s
ar
emadet
odr
inkconcoct
ionst
hatar
ehar
mful
tot
hem.

I
nmostcommuni
ti
es,
peopl
est
il
ldonotwantt
omi
ngl
ewi
thwi
dows.Ther
e
ar
emy
thst
hati
fyouar
eamar
ri
edwomanandy
oumi
ngl
ewi
thwi
dows,
y
ourhusbandwi
l
ldi
e.Husbandsar
epr
event
ingt
hei
rwi
vesf
rom at
tendi
ng
gat
her
ingt
hathav
ewi
dows,
thr
eat
eni
ngt
odi
vor
cet
hem.

Ay
oungwi
dow,whoaskedt
hathernamebewi
thhel
d,say
s‘si
nceIwas
askedt
ost
ri
pnakedatmyhusband’
sfuner
alIhav
enotgonet
ochur
ch
becauseIf
eel
shy
’.

Fr
iendsf
rom t
heMedi
a,t
her
ear
e 823,
562 
widowedper
sonsi
nGhanaout
ofapopul
ati
onof
 about24,
000,
000.Ei
ght
ysi
xper
cent(
86%)oft
hesear
e
women,whi
chmeanst
her
ear
eov
er700,
000wi
dows.Thi
sisaccor
dingt
o
t
heGhanaSt
ati
sti
csSer
vicePopul
ati
onCensusi
n2010.Thesewi
dowsf
ind
t
hemsel
ves i
n 75 di
ff
erentet
hni
c gr
oups,mostofwhi
ch di
scr
imi
nat
e
agai
nstwi
dows

Howev
er,t
her
eis an ast
oni
shi
ng i
gnor
ance aboutand l
ack ofpubl
i
c
concer
nfort
hesuf
fer
ingofwi
dowsandt
hei
rfami
l
iesont
hepar
tof
gov
ernment
s,t
hei
nter
nat
ionalcommuni
ty,ci
vi
lsoci
etyandev
enwomen'
s
or
gani
zat
ions.I
nspi
teoft
her
ati
fi
cat
ionbymanycount
ri
esoft
he1979UN
Conv
ent
ion on t
he El
i
minat
ion ofAl
lFor
ms ofDi
scr
imi
nat
ion agai
nst
Women(
CEDAW)
,wi
dowsar
ebar
elyment
ionedi
nthel
i
ter
atur
eofgender
and dev
elopment
,excepti
nthe cont
extofagi
ng.Yett
he i
ssues of
wi
dowhoodcutacr
ossev
eryoneoft
het
wel
vecr
it
icalar
easoft
he1995
Bei
j
ingPl
atf
ormf
orAct
ion,andt
heSust
ainabl
edev
elopmentgoal
sand
Af
ri
can Uni
on Agenda2030 i
nthear
eascov
eri
ng pov
ert
y,v
iol
encet
o
women,t
hegi
rlchi
l
d,heal
th,educat
ion,empl
oyment
,womenandar
med
conf
li
ct,
inst
it
uti
onal
mechani
sms,
andhumanr
ight
s.

TheChai
r,Af
tert
hef
uner
alar
elat
iveoft
hel
atehusbandi
nher
it
sal
lthe
pr
oper
tyoft
hewi
dow’
shusband.Si
ncet
hewi
dowi
sseenas'
proper
ty'
,t
his
meansshei
sal
soi
nher
it
ed.Themanwoul
dhav
epai
dcowsasdowr
yfor
t
hewoman,andunl
esssheorherpar
ent
shav
ethemeanst
obuyher
f
reedom,sher
emai
nst
hepr
oper
tyofherl
atehusband'
sfami
l
y.Thi
sleads
t
oawi
dow bei
ngl
i
ttl
emor
ethanadomest
icser
vant
,car
ryi
ngoutunpai
d
l
abourf
orherl
atehusband'
sfami
l
y.

At
ebonoAgana,
a42-
year
-ol
dwi
dow,
say
s‘myhusbanddi
edf
ivey
ear
sago.
Bar
elyay
earaf
terhi
sdeat
h,hi
sbr
othert
ookmet
ocour
t.

Hecl
aimedt
hel
andonwhi
chmyl
atehusbandandIbui
l
tourbaronwas
hi
s,andhewant
edhi
sland.Af
tert
hreey
ear
sofgoi
ngt
ocour
tandwast
ing
money
,Iwasaskedt
ovacat
ethebarsohecoul
dhav
ehi
slandsi
ncei
twas
af
ami
l
yland.Mybusi
nesshascol
l
apsedbecauseIspental
lmymoney
goi
ngt
othecour
tandnowhowdoIcat
erf
ormyt
hreechi
l
dren?
’At
ebono
f
inal
l
yhadt
orel
ocat
eandset
tl
eout
sidehercommuni
tyt
opr
eventv
erbal
andphy
sicalabusef
rom herl
atehusband’
sfami
l
y.Hercasei
sjustoneof
t
hesi
tuat
ionswi
dowsf
indt
hemsel
vesi
n.

Educat
ionf
orwi
dows'
chi
l
dren

Manychi
l
drenofwi
dows,r
isknotf
ini
shi
ngt
hei
reducat
ionduet
othe
i
njust
icest
heyf
ace.Wi
dowsr
out
inel
yfaceext
remepov
ert
yandhar
dshi
p.
Unl
essherpar
ent
sorr
elat
ivesar
eabl
eandwi
l
li
ngt
opr
ovi
def
orher
chi
l
dren,t
heymaybef
orcedt
odr
opoutofschool
.Thi
sdeni
est
hem t
he
chancet
o obt
aint
heski
l
lsneededt
o accessempl
oyment
,to become
i
ndependentandbeabl
etoear
nmor
emoney
.

Thi
sispar
ti
cul
arl
ypr
obl
emat
icf
orgi
rl
s,ast
heyar
eseenasapot
ent
ial
sour
ceofv
aluabl
eincomef
ort
hef
ami
l
y.Manyar
efor
cedt
omar
rysot
he
f
ami
l
iesoft
hel
atef
athercanaccesst
hedowr
y.Theymar
rywi
thno
educat
ionandnoski
l
ls,
tool
dermen,
andt
hecy
clecont
inues.

Accesst
oland

TheChai
rper
son,Wi
dowsar
eof
tendeni
edaccesst
othei
rhusband'
sland
t
ofar
m.Nor
mal
l
yther
elat
iveswi
l
lsayt
hef
armi
sonl
yfort
hef
ami
l
y,
l
eav
ingt
hewi
dowl
andl
ess.Shecant
ryt
ofi
ndnewl
andt
ofar
m,butt
hisi
s
f
requent
lyf
arawayandofpoorqual
i
ty.Awi
dow mayhav
etowal
kmany
mi
l
est
ohernewf
arm andbackeachday
,reduci
ngt
heamountshecanput
i
nasl
abouronherl
and.Thewi
dowi
snotnor
mal
l
ygi
venf
ert
il
eland,and
shedoesnoteasi
l
ygett
ract
orser
vices.Thi
smeanst
hatt
hel
andmaybe
pl
oughedl
ate,andwi
thoutf
armi
nput
sthewomanwi
l
lbel
eftwi
thapoor
y
iel
dthatcannotf
eedherf
ami
l
ythr
ought
othenextr
aini
ngseason.The
i
nfer
ti
lel
andscoupl
edwi
tht
henat
uraldi
sast
ersofdr
ought
,inf
ert
il
esoi
l
andl
i
ttl
eaccesst
ofer
ti
li
zeri
sapr
eval
entcauseoff
oodi
nsecur
it
yamong
wi
dows.

Domest
icv
iol
ence

Duet
othenon-
avai
l
abi
l
ityofshel
ter
s,wi
dowsar
efor
cedt
omi
grat
efr
om
nor
ther
nGhanat
osout
her
nGhanat
oav
oiddomest
icv
iol
encei
nthef
orm
ofbat
ter
y,v
erbal
abuseandpsy
chol
ogi
cal
abuse.

Abusedwi
dowsar
easkedt
opayaf
eeatt
hehospi
tal
sbef
oremedi
cal
doct
ors’si
gnt
hei
rpol
i
cef
ormspr
ovi
ngt
hatt
heywer
eact
ual
l
yphy
sical
l
y
abused.Mostwi
dowscannotaf
for
dthi
sfee.TheDomest
icVi
olenceand
Vi
cti
m Suppor
tuni
ts ar
e notdecent
ral
i
sed i
n mostdi
str
ict
s,and so
domest
icv
iol
encecasesar
emost
lyr
efer
redt
other
egi
ons.Thi
scomesat
asi
gni
fi
cantcostt
owi
dows.Thel
ongper
iodsi
nvol
vedf
orv
ict
imst
oseek
j
ust
icear
epr
event
ingwi
dowsf
rom bei
ngabl
etoseekj
ust
icewhenabused.

Chai
r Per
son, Wi
dows ar
e not excl
usi
vel
yvi
cti
ms, wi
dows make
except
ionalbutunacknowl
edgedcont
ri
but
iont
osoci
etyt
hroughchi
l
dcar
e,
car
eofor
phans,
agr
icul
tur
alwor
k,andsust
aini
ngt
hecommuni
ty.

They hav
e been t
he st
rong f
orce and pi
l
larf
ort
he dev
elopmentof
count
lesschi
l
drenwhoot
her
wisewoul
dhav
ebeendest
it
ute.

Howev
er,t
her
ehav
ebeensi
tuat
ionswher
ethei
rchi
l
drenar
ewi
thdr
awn
f
rom school
,sentt
owor
kasdomest
icser
vant
sorsacr
if
icedt
oar
easof
expl
oit
ati
vei
ssuessuchaschi
l
dlabor
,ear
lymar
ri
ageorabandonedt
othe
st
reet
s.

Thesear
ecommonsur
viv
alst
rat
egi
esandwi
l
lcont
inuet
obeusedunt
il
wi
dows can access educat
ion and i
ncome-
gener
ati
ng t
rai
ning f
or
t
hemsel
vesandt
hei
rdependent
s.

Gal
l
antWomenofGhana,wear
ewomenandwear
est
rong;i
fwi
dows
"
bandt
oget
her
,"or
gani
zet
hemsel
ves,maket
hei
rvoi
ceshear
d,andar
e
r
epr
esent
edondeci
sion-
maki
ngbodi
esl
ocal
l
y,nat
ional
l
y,r
egi
onal
l
y,and
i
nter
nat
ional
l
y,changewi
l
loccur
.Pr
ogr
esswi
l
lnotbemadeunt
ilwi
dows
t
hemsel
vesar
etheagent
sofchange.Wi
dows'
associ
ati
onsmustl
ear
nto
t
akeadv
ant
ageandempowert
hei
rmember
stounder
takest
udi
espr
ofi
l
ing
t
hei
rsi
tuat
ionandneeds.Theymustbei
nvol
vedi
nthedesi
gnofpr
oject
s
and pr
ogr
amsand i
nst
rument
ali
n moni
tor
ing t
he i
mpl
ement
ati
on and
ef
fect
ivenessofnew r
efor
mlegi
slat
iont
ogi
vet
hem pr
oper
ty,l
and,and
i
nher
it
ancer
ight
s;pr
otectt
hem f
rom v
iol
ence;andgi
vet
hem oppor
tuni
ti
es
f
ort
rai
ningandempl
oyment
.

Gov
ernmenti
nit
squestt
oensur
ethepr
otect
ionoft
hewomeni
nal
l
si
tuat
ion has i
ssued t
hat wi
dowhood r
it
es ar
e agai
nst t
he 1992
Const
it
uti
onofGhanaasi
tfr
ownedonpr
act
icest
hatar
edi
scr
imi
nat
ory
andi
nfr
ingesont
her
ight
sandf
reedomsofani
ndi
vi
dual
.Iti
sal
soagai
nst
t
heCr
imi
nal
Off
enceActandi
tsAmendment
s.

Gov
ernmenthasal
sopr
ovi
dedsecur
it
yfori
nher
it
anceorshar
eofpr
oper
ty
i
ntheev
entofdeat
hordi
ssol
uti
onofmar
ri
ageaccor
dingt
oGhana’
s1992
Const
it
uti
onandTheI
ntest
ateSuccessi
onAct
,1985(
PNDCL111)
.An
Af
fi
rmat
ionAct
ionBi
l
ltopr
omot
ethepar
ti
ci
pat
ionofwomeni
ndeci
si
on
maki
nghasbeensubmi
tt
edt
oCabi
netf
orappr
oval
.

Chai
rPer
son,t
her
ear
esi
xwi
tches’
campsacr
osst
heNor
ther
nRegi
onwi
th
t
heol
destbei
ngt
heGambagaWi
tchesCampi
ntheEastMampr
usiDi
str
ict
,
sai
dtohav
eexi
stedf
oraboutacent
ury
.Theot
hercampsar
etheGy
ani
,
Noobul
i
,Kukuo,Kpat
ingaandBony
asei
ntheYendiMuni
ci
pal
i
ty,Gushegu,
NanumbaNor
thandCent
ral
Gonj
aDi
str
ict
srespect
ivel
y.

Ni
net
ypercent(
90%)oft
hei
nmat
esoft
hesecampsar
ewomen-someof
whom ar
eabov
e70y
ear
sandl
i
vei
nthecampswi
tht
hei
rchi
l
drenand
gr
andchi
l
dren.

Fi
ft
y-f
ive(
55)i
nmat
esoft
he Bony
ase Wi
tchesCamp i
nthe Nor
ther
n
Regi
ongai
nedt
hei
rfr
eedom f
rom t
heser
vit
udeandsoci
alost
raci
sm t
hey
hadendur
edf
ory
ear
sDecember2014f
oll
owi
ngt
hecl
osur
eoft
heBony
ase
Wi
tchesCampi
ntheCent
ralGonj
aDi
str
ict
.Thi
swasdonei
ncol
l
abor
ati
on
wi
tht
he Mi
nist
ryofChi
eft
aincyand Tr
adi
ti
onalAf
fai
rsand Act
ionAi
d,
Ghana.

At
ri
cycl
eandacor
nmi
l
lwer
epr
esent
edt
othef
eti
shpr
iest
essoft
he
campt
ogener
atei
ncomef
orheraf
tert
hedi
sbandmentoft
hecamp.The
al
l
eged wi
tcheswer
eal
so r
euni
ted wi
tht
hei
rfami
l
iesaspar
toft
hei
r
r
eint
egr
ati
on i
ntot
hei
rrespect
ivecommuni
ti
es.Al
lthei
nmat
esatt
he
v
ari
ous al
l
eged wi
tches camps ar
e benef
it
ing f
rom Nat
ionalHeal
th
I
nsur
ance.Cur
rent
ly,32%ofbenef
ici
ari
esaged35y
ear
sandabov
e,some
ofwhom ar
ewi
dowsar
eont
heLi
vel
i
hoodEmpower
mentAgai
nstPov
ert
y
(
LEAP)pr
ogr
amme.

Women gr
oups hav
e been suppor
ted wi
th sof
tloans byMASLOC t
o
under
take smal
lscal
e busi
ness and ent
erpr
ises t
oimpr
ovet
he l
i
ving
condi
ti
onsoft
hei
rfami
l
iesandt
hesewomenmake96%oft
heLoansgi
ven
byMASLOC.

Howev
er,al
ltheseact
ionswi
l
lnotbearanyr
esul
tsi
fgi
rl
satanear
lyage
ar
enoteducat
edandt
rai
nedt
obei
ndependentandhav
etheeconomi
c
meanst
osuppor
tthei
rfami
l
iesi
nti
mesofneed.Husbandsshoul
dsuppor
t
t
hei
rwi
vesandbui
l
dtheeconomi
ccapaci
tyoft
hei
rwi
vest
oabl
ethem
t
akecar
eoft
hei
rfami
l
iesi
ncaseofdeat
h.Iwantt
our
geal
lgat
her
edher
e
t
otakeadv
ant
ageoft
hev
ari
ouspr
ogr
ammesi
nit
iat
edbyPr
esi
dentAkuf
o-
Addol
edgov
ernmentsuchaspl
ant
ingf
orf
oodandj
obs,
FreeSHSandOne
v
il
lage,
Onedam amongstot
her
s.

Iwantt
ouset
hisoppor
tuni
tyt
othankt
heMamaZi
mbiFoundat
ionf
ort
he
cont
inuedsuppor
titgi
vest
owi
dowsacr
osst
hecount
ry.Wear
eal
so
appr
eci
ati
ve oft
he ef
for
tsmade byy
ourAssoci
ati
on t
o suppor
tyour
member
s.

TheMi
nist
ryofGender
,Chi
l
dren and Soci
alPr
otect
ion i
sav
ail
abl
eto
suppor
tyoui
nanycapaci
tywi
thi
nmymeans.Iuset
hispl
atf
ormt
oal
so
encour
ageal
lment
osuppor
tthei
rwi
vest
obef
inanci
all
yindependentso
t
hatwhent
heunf
ort
unat
ehappenst
heycansuppor
tthechi
l
drenandbui
l
d
t
hei
rcapaci
tyt
omaket
omakei
tinl
i
fe.

Agai
n,Ipl
ead wi
th al
ltr
adi
ti
onalaut
hor
it
ies t
orev
iew and r
emov
e
out
moded and negat
ivet
radi
ti
onalpr
act
ices i
nthe per
for
mance of
wi
dowhoodr
it
esespeci
all
y,t
hosewhi
char
eini
mical
tohumanr
ight
s.

Iwi
shy
oual
lasuccessf
ulcel
ebr
ati
on.