Ghana: The struggle for equality

This paper focuses on the importance of according traditional women leaders throughout Africa the same recognition as male chiefs who have been co-opted into new positions of power in their societies. The author, from the Social Science Research Network, explores how, in spite of Ghana's professed commitment to gender equality, pronounced in its domestic law and its international legal obligations, women in Ghana continue to suffer the burden of discrimination. Traditional practices and attitudes toward women throughout Africa have hampered their quality of life, and continue to impair their ability to change that fact by hindering their access to public life.