Zuarungu (U/E), July 17, GNA - The Federation of African Women Lawyers on Monday held a durbar at Zuarungu in the Upper East Region in renewed sensitisation efforts to empower women to easily access justice whenever the need arises.

In his introductory remarks, the Programme Officer in charge of the Upper East Region, Mr David Atinga, held that majority of women in Ghana, especially those from the Northern Sector, suffered unacceptable cultural practices, which contravened the country's laws. He mentioned widowhood rites, the inability of women to inherit and own land, Female Genital Mutilation and domestic violence as some of the negative cultural practices affecting women in the area. Mr Atinga said although laws had been passed to curb these outmoded and inhuman practices, they still persisted, adding that it was against that background that FIDA-Ghana had stepped in to empower them to easily access justice.

To achieve this, FIDA is organising sensitisation workshops and durbars on Women and Children Rights, as well as training of paralegals and forming module courts and community aid groups to deal with the situation.

Mr Atinga expressed regret that in many communities women were not allowed to go to school or seek higher levels of education, adding that women were given few positions in politics and in areas where they could not influence decisions affecting them. Mr Atinga said some innocent women died through HIV/AIDS due to the lifestyle of their spouses and appealed to traditional and opinion leaders to map out up an effective strategy to combat the menace. The Programme Officer inaugurated newly trained community Aid Groups and Sister Watch Groups, which FIDA would collaborate with in the fight to eliminate those negative practices and thus help promote the status of women.

He cautioned the groups not to abuse the system by making themselves lawyers, or usurping the powers of traditional authorities and assembly members, but rather, they should collaborate with these bodies to deal with the situation.

A resource person, Mr. Alfred Saawug, who spoke on the topic " Gender Roles and Their Effects on Women and Children", urged equal opportunities for women and asked that girl-child Education should be valued and encouraged.