By: Helena Selby
Marriage is a sacred union that many people always love to enter, apart from being forced into, the happiness people have within them and some of their reasons for marriage is they getting the opportunity to live with someone they adore, respect and love. If that be the case, why do these virtues disappear in the middle of the marriage? Some couples claim to still have those virtues existing in their marriage, but act vice versa, with either one hurting the other or both hurting themselves. They hurt themselves emotionally, using abusive words and physical attacks, leading to spousal abuse. Spousal abuse is very common in many parts of the world, but the gender which really suffers it the most are women. The majority of women are always victims of spousal abuse because of their perceived weak nature. Even in the developed world, where women have rights to protect them, they still face abuses, how much more Africa where laws for the protection of women are limited.
What spousal abuse
According to World Health Organisation (WHO), spousal abuse occurs when a partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another. It encompasses a set of symptoms that involve both physical and/or emotional abuse. When it takes the form of emotional abuse, it is characterised by verbal ridicule and/or putdowns that demean, and patterns of neglect. Physical abuse involves the threat of physical violence, and may include slapping, shoving, and deliberate physical assault. Spousal abuse can also include cohabitants and non-married intimate partners. Domestic violence occurs in all cultures, people of all races, ethnicities, religions, sexes and classes. According to research, abusers are normally triggered off by the notion of them being powerless and insecure in their various homes, and end up behaving abusively.
Spousal abuse and society
Spousal abuse was mostly seen in the past, but very much of concern off late to society. In the past, incidences of spousal abuse against women were reported to the authorities and elders of the family, or the community. However, the law does not get involved. This was because society was of the opinion that the man was the head of his family, and that every action he takes, he has all the right to do, forgetting that the woman is as well entitled to some form of rights. However, the situation has changed. Society is vested with the principles of spousal abuse, since the law as well as human rights organisations are always prepared to take any incidence of spousal abuse up. Spousal abuse does not come all of a sudden. It comes step by step, but as it is always said that love is blind, a lot of women ignore the symptoms, even if it is right in front of them. In Ghana, women are the main victims of spousal abuse. Some women keep it a secret to portray a sign of a perfect marriage, and to prevent society from ridiculing them. Some also gather the courage to report such acts, but later on feel pity and just withdraw the case, with the explanation that she doesn't want the father of her children to be an ex-convict. Others also say marriage is a sacred union, and that one must take everything that goes on in it, and that is adherent to the oath they took in church “for better or for worse.” Spousal abuse normally begins with the man showing of extreme jealousy, and to the majority of women, jealousy exhibited by their spouse is a sign of love. It must be noted that when a man shows jealousy to the extent that he tries to control the life of the woman in terms of what she wears, whom she befriends, and talks to, it is a sign of future abuse. Most men try to exercise absolute control of the life of their wives, becoming over-protective and possessive, and closely monitoring every aspect of the woman's life. As time goes on and he is not able to control the woman to his satisfaction, he turns to abuse her physically over the slightest provocation or triviality. Sometimes the majority of women try to defend their partners, when they are caught by the law, by making all forms of excuses for their actions. However, it must be noted that abusers do not abuse because of loss of control of their behaviour, but do it with intent, sometimes under the cover of alcohol, which is no justification.
Situations of spousal abuse
Men, in one way or the other, as well face spousal abuse, and with the existence of the present economic hardships, obtaining a good job to feed one's family is very difficult. In this part of the world, where men are solely responsible for the up-keep of the home, providing for the home becomes hard. When this happens, a woman who is either a housewife or a working woman gets fed up with the situation, since she cannot bear all the responsibilities of the home. Obviously, as time passes by, the woman starts to act indifferently toward the man. The love, respect and adoration she had for the man begins to fade away, and she starts to offend him emotionally through abusive words. The orders and demands from the man are no more respected. The respect he gets from the home, by way of his wife serving him, immediately disappears. In most cases since the man is financially embarrassed, he becomes depressed and begins to have a sense of not being wanted or being useless, which eventually leads to drunkenness and sometimes suicide. However, for men who are scared of losing their ego, they turn to misbehave, even if the woman has not shown any signs of disrespect. As a way of making the woman know that he is still the man of the house, even though he doesn't provide, he turns to be abusive so as to put a sort of scare into the woman. According to one Madam Salomey Jumo, a trader, her husband is unemployed, and she has to take care of all the expenses in the home. To her, she is not worried at taking care of all the expenses, since he used to attend to the up-keep of the home. This, according to her, has compelled her to work extra hard to put food on the table, pay fees and all utility bills in the home. The pathetic thing is that the man gives her no helping hand, she sometimes does the washing of clothes and utensils, cooks and at the same time carry their little boy on her back, while the man sit idle and watches. She said on no single day has the man every helped her in the things of the house, even though he does nothing, and when she asks for his help, he tells her those activities are meant for women, and that he is the man of the house. It might not be physical abuse, but what Madam Jumo gets is another form of spousal abuse. One Gladys Ntumi, a student in one of the universities, narrated that her boyfriend was so jealous to the extent that he does not even allow her keep the phone numbers of her male friends on her phone. She said whenever she receives a phone call in his presence he compels her to put it on the loudspeaker in order to verify if it is a male she is talking to. According to her, he once smashed her phone on the floor, because of a conversation she was having on the phone, for which he later on apologised. She stressed that he sometimes make attempts at hitting her, but has never done it, however she is scared he might hit her one day, so she is planning to quit the relationship.
Conclusion
Spousal abuse is a dangerous aspect of abuse which has a vicious cycle in generations of society. It is about time abusers learn to empathise with their victims, since it develops some form of trauma in their lives. They also ought to know that their freedom is at risk if they continue to put other people's freedom at risk. Victims of abusers should learn to take courage and report it to authorities in order for the law to deal with these abusers. Government and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) will be of good help if they educate the public about the dangerous aspects of spousal abuse, people will then willingly report incidences, and as well know the symptoms of it.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Women Demand That Their Rights Be Implemented
by helena selby
In Ghana, and many parts of the world, women see marriage as the ultimate achievement in their lives. When a woman gains the love and respect of a man, and marriage is proposed, it serves as the greatest pride and dignity of the woman, since a man has found some sought of virtue in her. However, when the woman reaches her prime, and sees no signs of appreciation of her looks and virtue from any man, it turns to be a disappointment and a form of disgrace, since society will have a negative perception about her.In Ghana, when a woman is not married and is past her prime, society has the perception that men don't see her as being attractive and good for marriage, or she has a bad character. At times society concludes it is due to an evil omen/curse, thereby preventing any man from being attracted to her. A woman, who does not get married in her prime, loses all forms of respect that she has in society, is ridiculed and called all forms of names. A woman who is able to marry and have children is considered lucky and virtuous. Marriage is a good thing, but looking at how the idea of marriage is cherished by women, do they get the full benefit of it, especially in times of divorce or bigamy on the side of the man.
Marriage in Ghana
There are three types of marriage in Ghana, namely marriage by Ordinance, Customary and Religious, however, each tribe, when it comes to customary marriage, have their own ways of doing it. In the Akan way of marriage, the family of the woman decides what the man should present in order to take the woman as his wife - usually a bottle of schnapps and some amount of money does it all. When these items are accepted by the woman's family, then the woman becomes the wife of the man. A woman getting married is a sort of relief from some of her responsibilities, as the man has the responsibility of taking care of all her needs. The joy of every woman in a marriage is how loving a husband is, and how well the husband is able to take care of her.
Even though society assumes that a husband and wife are one flesh, when it comes to asset owning in the matrimonial home, surely, they say, it belongs to the man. It is a fact that property acquired by the man before marriage is his, however those acquired during the years of marriage is for both the man and woman. Even though this is the issue most times, women tend to get no share of the property acquired during the marriage, even though the law makes provision for this. This is because the man is the one who takes the woman from her parental home to his own, which becomes their matrimonial home.
In Ghana, it is the sole responsibility of the man to take care of every financial responsibility in the home, while the woman handles the domestic responsibilities. The woman can choose to help when there are financial crises out of her own free will. In this case, every property the man has before and during the marriage is considered his alone. The explanation being that the man was solely responsible for the finances in the home, and the woman, only the domestic responsibility, forgetting that the domestic responsibility of the woman, which is non-monetary, is counted as an occupation.
Divorce in Ghana
It very unfair that while marriage can be annulled in the case of marital unfaithfulness, in Ghana a woman can be divorced under customary law, on grounds of witchcraft, stealing and adultery, yet these are not grounds for a woman to divorce a man. If a man wants to divorce his wife, he demands from the family of the woman the dowry or items he presented to them for her hand in marriage. If the woman decides to divorce the man, the only thing she has to do is to send a bottle of schnapps to the family of the husband. The acceptance of the schnapps from the family of the woman, by the husband's family, is recognition of the divorce. The return of the schnapps by the woman's family, and the acceptance by the man's family, is considered a formal agreement to the divorce.
Laws protecting women
It is a good thing that the government has the interest of women at heart, even the passage of the Domestic Violence Act is a sign of true commitment to the protection of women. . In relation to women, laws have been passed over the years to improve their situation. These include marriage laws, intestate succession laws PNDC Law 111(1985), customary marriage, and divorce law PNDC law 112(1985).
Amendments of the criminal code now contain consolidated criminal codes which have provisions to protect women from harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and these provisions have also broadened protection against sexual violence. The Children's Act also protects children from early marriage.
Women and the law
According to the Women's Manifesto for 2008, in spite of the laws which are meant to protect women, they still continue to suffer bias and discrimination in Ghana. International human right instruments are not fully integrated and enforced within our national laws. In addition, the laws do not go far enough and fail to address the requirements of a comprehensive review of all national laws to ensure the repeal of discriminatory laws. Certain bills, such as the bill on property right, are yet to become law, although thirteen years have passed since the 1992 Constitution called for their passage. As a result, women continue to contend with discriminatory laws and practices in employment, marriage, divorce, and in access to resources such as land labour, capital and technology.
Furthermore, women continue to live with discrimination in relation to their rights and obligations in marriage, and the grounds for divorce. Practice such as polygamy, though lawful under customary and religious laws, are discriminatory and unconstitutional, and increases women's insecurity and vulnerability in married life. Men who are involved in the act of bigamy are not made to account for their actions, even though the criminal code makes such acts unlawful. Court decisions show that the laws governing the distribution of marital property during divorce do not sufficiently take account of women's non-monetary contribution to the acquisition of such property. There are limited or no access to legal processes, as a result of problems of cost and availability of service. The few women who are able to access the legal system find themselves dealing with an unduly formal and alienating environment.
Conclusion
Women are demanding that laws governing their rights be implemented, since it is meant for them and they as well need more rights to feel safe and accepted in the society they live in. If discrimination against women is not stopped, then campaigns about the rights women automatically will be of no use. It is about time certain laws such as the bill on property rights become law, just like the government has brought about the domestic violence act, it is the demand of women that this bill be passed.
In Ghana, and many parts of the world, women see marriage as the ultimate achievement in their lives. When a woman gains the love and respect of a man, and marriage is proposed, it serves as the greatest pride and dignity of the woman, since a man has found some sought of virtue in her. However, when the woman reaches her prime, and sees no signs of appreciation of her looks and virtue from any man, it turns to be a disappointment and a form of disgrace, since society will have a negative perception about her.In Ghana, when a woman is not married and is past her prime, society has the perception that men don't see her as being attractive and good for marriage, or she has a bad character. At times society concludes it is due to an evil omen/curse, thereby preventing any man from being attracted to her. A woman, who does not get married in her prime, loses all forms of respect that she has in society, is ridiculed and called all forms of names. A woman who is able to marry and have children is considered lucky and virtuous. Marriage is a good thing, but looking at how the idea of marriage is cherished by women, do they get the full benefit of it, especially in times of divorce or bigamy on the side of the man.
Marriage in Ghana
There are three types of marriage in Ghana, namely marriage by Ordinance, Customary and Religious, however, each tribe, when it comes to customary marriage, have their own ways of doing it. In the Akan way of marriage, the family of the woman decides what the man should present in order to take the woman as his wife - usually a bottle of schnapps and some amount of money does it all. When these items are accepted by the woman's family, then the woman becomes the wife of the man. A woman getting married is a sort of relief from some of her responsibilities, as the man has the responsibility of taking care of all her needs. The joy of every woman in a marriage is how loving a husband is, and how well the husband is able to take care of her.
Even though society assumes that a husband and wife are one flesh, when it comes to asset owning in the matrimonial home, surely, they say, it belongs to the man. It is a fact that property acquired by the man before marriage is his, however those acquired during the years of marriage is for both the man and woman. Even though this is the issue most times, women tend to get no share of the property acquired during the marriage, even though the law makes provision for this. This is because the man is the one who takes the woman from her parental home to his own, which becomes their matrimonial home.
In Ghana, it is the sole responsibility of the man to take care of every financial responsibility in the home, while the woman handles the domestic responsibilities. The woman can choose to help when there are financial crises out of her own free will. In this case, every property the man has before and during the marriage is considered his alone. The explanation being that the man was solely responsible for the finances in the home, and the woman, only the domestic responsibility, forgetting that the domestic responsibility of the woman, which is non-monetary, is counted as an occupation.
Divorce in Ghana
It very unfair that while marriage can be annulled in the case of marital unfaithfulness, in Ghana a woman can be divorced under customary law, on grounds of witchcraft, stealing and adultery, yet these are not grounds for a woman to divorce a man. If a man wants to divorce his wife, he demands from the family of the woman the dowry or items he presented to them for her hand in marriage. If the woman decides to divorce the man, the only thing she has to do is to send a bottle of schnapps to the family of the husband. The acceptance of the schnapps from the family of the woman, by the husband's family, is recognition of the divorce. The return of the schnapps by the woman's family, and the acceptance by the man's family, is considered a formal agreement to the divorce.
Laws protecting women
It is a good thing that the government has the interest of women at heart, even the passage of the Domestic Violence Act is a sign of true commitment to the protection of women. . In relation to women, laws have been passed over the years to improve their situation. These include marriage laws, intestate succession laws PNDC Law 111(1985), customary marriage, and divorce law PNDC law 112(1985).
Amendments of the criminal code now contain consolidated criminal codes which have provisions to protect women from harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), and these provisions have also broadened protection against sexual violence. The Children's Act also protects children from early marriage.
Women and the law
According to the Women's Manifesto for 2008, in spite of the laws which are meant to protect women, they still continue to suffer bias and discrimination in Ghana. International human right instruments are not fully integrated and enforced within our national laws. In addition, the laws do not go far enough and fail to address the requirements of a comprehensive review of all national laws to ensure the repeal of discriminatory laws. Certain bills, such as the bill on property right, are yet to become law, although thirteen years have passed since the 1992 Constitution called for their passage. As a result, women continue to contend with discriminatory laws and practices in employment, marriage, divorce, and in access to resources such as land labour, capital and technology.
Furthermore, women continue to live with discrimination in relation to their rights and obligations in marriage, and the grounds for divorce. Practice such as polygamy, though lawful under customary and religious laws, are discriminatory and unconstitutional, and increases women's insecurity and vulnerability in married life. Men who are involved in the act of bigamy are not made to account for their actions, even though the criminal code makes such acts unlawful. Court decisions show that the laws governing the distribution of marital property during divorce do not sufficiently take account of women's non-monetary contribution to the acquisition of such property. There are limited or no access to legal processes, as a result of problems of cost and availability of service. The few women who are able to access the legal system find themselves dealing with an unduly formal and alienating environment.
Conclusion
Women are demanding that laws governing their rights be implemented, since it is meant for them and they as well need more rights to feel safe and accepted in the society they live in. If discrimination against women is not stopped, then campaigns about the rights women automatically will be of no use. It is about time certain laws such as the bill on property rights become law, just like the government has brought about the domestic violence act, it is the demand of women that this bill be passed.
Let’s have compassion on People with Disabilities
By Helena Selby
Physical disability is not the destiny of any human being. It as well not the criteria for measuring one’s prospects in life. If people with disability (PWD) are given the right opportunity by society, to be like any other human in society, then the dreams of PWD will be a reality. Everyday PWDs, apart from going through the pain associated with their physical being have to contend with heavy hearts full of pain, depression, anguish and oppression over the way they are treated by society. Society ought to put in mind that being physically challenged was not the idea of the victims, and that it came by accident. The same can happen to anyone, besides, sometimes no matter how careful one is, accidents are bound to occur. It is true some of these PWDs take advantage of their situation and beg for alms on the streets, but society must try its possible best to be of help to those who have decided not to be a burden, but rather make themselves useful. If society would only have a little bit of compassion, consideration and patience for people in this state, not only will it help the people but the society and the nation as a whole.
The Ghanaian society and people with disability
Ghana, one of the countries which is considered worldwide to have the virtue of hospitality, is not so when it comes to being hospitable to PWDs. One might associate it with the level of superstition that the people have about PWDs. The majority of the population, literates or illiterates, have the notion that physical disability is as a result of being unlucky in life or being cursed, and are scared that the curse might be passed on to them, or might affect their prospects in life. However, Madam Doris Ekuba, a teacher who does not associate physical disability with wizardry or a curse, sees helping PWDs as a sign of mockery. She said she used to have extreme pity for them until she heard in the news about a cripple raping a little girl, or a fellow cripple, sometime stabbing someone with a knife over some trivialities, and doing other unimaginable things.
As if that was not enough, she once witnessed two cripples in a wheelchair fighting in a such bloody way, just because one was owing the other some few coins. According to her, the manner of the fight put fright into the people around, so much that no one ventured to separate them, with the fear that they might be hurt. Looking at the whole scenario, if PWDs are able to kill, steal, and above all rape, then they need no compassion, she added. Nevertheless, in as much as these attitudes are found in a minority of PWDs, it should not prevent society from giving a helping hand to the majority who earnestly need help. Society should note that disability is either a result of an accident, disease, or even old age which could cause loss of sight. Blindness through old age should not give society the opportunity to trample on the right of the victim.
A true story
Nana O. Akowuah is an 87 year old blind man who was a veteran of the second World War. He is a resident of a flat at Number 32 Mukose Street Tesano. According to him, he has been a resident of the house for the past 25 years, however, during the course of his stay, the owner of the house, Mr. B. K. Asare, passed away, willing the house to one Mr. Yaw Addo Asare.
According to Nana, there have been several instances where he pleaded with Mr. Addo Asare, the present landlord, to sell the house to him, but Mr. Asare refused. Not long ago, one Mr. Yaw Tawiah Bio introduced himself as the new owner of the other half of the twin house. As time went on, Mr. Tawiah made a fence wall which took away his manhole and part of the land he is occupying, with the consent of the land lord, without consulting him. However, when he confronted them, they did not take him serious but rather ignored him. When Nana took the case to the police, he was told he had no right whatsoever over the house or land, as the landlord, Mr. Addo Asare, had the absolute right to do whatever pleases him. To Nana, all that he is interested in is for the land lord to grant him the same chance like he did for Mr. Tawiah, so that he could also buy the house, and renovate it. Nana does not understand why the land lord has deprived him of his right to be the rightful owner of the manhole and the land, which the new tenant has forcibly taken away.In a petition to a Police Commander, he made it clear that what
Mr. Yaw Addo Asare and Mr. Tawiah Bio were into was definitely in breach of natural justice, and as a breach of the provision under the rent control act concerning an inducement to eject a tenant, and that this matter was a clear case of conspiracy and abetment of inducement to eject him from the house.
PWDs and the law
PWDs have been discriminated against for too long a time, and it is a good thing that the United Nations (UN), governments and organisational bodies have come to empathize with PWDs to free them from their plight. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of employment, education, access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs, and land-based transport services, buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property, and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations, functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licenses.
The Act requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. It also allows the government to set minimum standards, so that disabled people can use public transport easily. Furthermore, it prevents any form of harassment in employment, education, and in terms of goods and services. In Ghana, this act has been in existence, but its implementation has always been the issue. According to the President of the Ghana Federation of Disabled (GFD), Mr. Samuel Kwesi Asare, three years after the promulgation of this act, its implementation is yet to be effected. He made this known at the celebration of this year’s National Disability Day, with its theme, “Call to action: implementation of the National Disability Act,” which he believes is a reflection of the state of affairs. According to him, what the GFD requires most is the political willingness on the part of the state to ensure the implementation of the National Disability Act. The GFD has the conviction that further delay in the implementation of the act, would serve as an obstacle to the agenda of mainstreaming disability concerns to national development.
Conclusion
There is the need for society to know that PWDs are entitled to the same laws and rights they are entitled to. Equal rights and the rule of law is what society always cry for, why then does society not try to implement the human rights laws the country has now for PWDs. The cry of the PWDs to implement the long time act is not in the hands of the government only, but mostly in the hands of the society. The society should try and give PWDs the same chances given to other people in life, so that they will as well be proud of their existence in life, and also be able to reach their dreams and aspirations. If society is not willing to help PWDs, what would be the essence of the implementation of the act?
Physical disability is not the destiny of any human being. It as well not the criteria for measuring one’s prospects in life. If people with disability (PWD) are given the right opportunity by society, to be like any other human in society, then the dreams of PWD will be a reality. Everyday PWDs, apart from going through the pain associated with their physical being have to contend with heavy hearts full of pain, depression, anguish and oppression over the way they are treated by society. Society ought to put in mind that being physically challenged was not the idea of the victims, and that it came by accident. The same can happen to anyone, besides, sometimes no matter how careful one is, accidents are bound to occur. It is true some of these PWDs take advantage of their situation and beg for alms on the streets, but society must try its possible best to be of help to those who have decided not to be a burden, but rather make themselves useful. If society would only have a little bit of compassion, consideration and patience for people in this state, not only will it help the people but the society and the nation as a whole.
The Ghanaian society and people with disability
Ghana, one of the countries which is considered worldwide to have the virtue of hospitality, is not so when it comes to being hospitable to PWDs. One might associate it with the level of superstition that the people have about PWDs. The majority of the population, literates or illiterates, have the notion that physical disability is as a result of being unlucky in life or being cursed, and are scared that the curse might be passed on to them, or might affect their prospects in life. However, Madam Doris Ekuba, a teacher who does not associate physical disability with wizardry or a curse, sees helping PWDs as a sign of mockery. She said she used to have extreme pity for them until she heard in the news about a cripple raping a little girl, or a fellow cripple, sometime stabbing someone with a knife over some trivialities, and doing other unimaginable things.
As if that was not enough, she once witnessed two cripples in a wheelchair fighting in a such bloody way, just because one was owing the other some few coins. According to her, the manner of the fight put fright into the people around, so much that no one ventured to separate them, with the fear that they might be hurt. Looking at the whole scenario, if PWDs are able to kill, steal, and above all rape, then they need no compassion, she added. Nevertheless, in as much as these attitudes are found in a minority of PWDs, it should not prevent society from giving a helping hand to the majority who earnestly need help. Society should note that disability is either a result of an accident, disease, or even old age which could cause loss of sight. Blindness through old age should not give society the opportunity to trample on the right of the victim.
A true story
Nana O. Akowuah is an 87 year old blind man who was a veteran of the second World War. He is a resident of a flat at Number 32 Mukose Street Tesano. According to him, he has been a resident of the house for the past 25 years, however, during the course of his stay, the owner of the house, Mr. B. K. Asare, passed away, willing the house to one Mr. Yaw Addo Asare.
According to Nana, there have been several instances where he pleaded with Mr. Addo Asare, the present landlord, to sell the house to him, but Mr. Asare refused. Not long ago, one Mr. Yaw Tawiah Bio introduced himself as the new owner of the other half of the twin house. As time went on, Mr. Tawiah made a fence wall which took away his manhole and part of the land he is occupying, with the consent of the land lord, without consulting him. However, when he confronted them, they did not take him serious but rather ignored him. When Nana took the case to the police, he was told he had no right whatsoever over the house or land, as the landlord, Mr. Addo Asare, had the absolute right to do whatever pleases him. To Nana, all that he is interested in is for the land lord to grant him the same chance like he did for Mr. Tawiah, so that he could also buy the house, and renovate it. Nana does not understand why the land lord has deprived him of his right to be the rightful owner of the manhole and the land, which the new tenant has forcibly taken away.In a petition to a Police Commander, he made it clear that what
Mr. Yaw Addo Asare and Mr. Tawiah Bio were into was definitely in breach of natural justice, and as a breach of the provision under the rent control act concerning an inducement to eject a tenant, and that this matter was a clear case of conspiracy and abetment of inducement to eject him from the house.
PWDs and the law
PWDs have been discriminated against for too long a time, and it is a good thing that the United Nations (UN), governments and organisational bodies have come to empathize with PWDs to free them from their plight. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995 aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face. This Act has been significantly extended, including the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. It now gives disabled people rights in the areas of employment, education, access to goods, facilities and services, including larger private clubs, and land-based transport services, buying or renting land or property, including making it easier for disabled people to rent property, and for tenants to make disability-related adaptations, functions of public bodies, for example issuing of licenses.
The Act requires public bodies to promote equality of opportunity for disabled people. It also allows the government to set minimum standards, so that disabled people can use public transport easily. Furthermore, it prevents any form of harassment in employment, education, and in terms of goods and services. In Ghana, this act has been in existence, but its implementation has always been the issue. According to the President of the Ghana Federation of Disabled (GFD), Mr. Samuel Kwesi Asare, three years after the promulgation of this act, its implementation is yet to be effected. He made this known at the celebration of this year’s National Disability Day, with its theme, “Call to action: implementation of the National Disability Act,” which he believes is a reflection of the state of affairs. According to him, what the GFD requires most is the political willingness on the part of the state to ensure the implementation of the National Disability Act. The GFD has the conviction that further delay in the implementation of the act, would serve as an obstacle to the agenda of mainstreaming disability concerns to national development.
Conclusion
There is the need for society to know that PWDs are entitled to the same laws and rights they are entitled to. Equal rights and the rule of law is what society always cry for, why then does society not try to implement the human rights laws the country has now for PWDs. The cry of the PWDs to implement the long time act is not in the hands of the government only, but mostly in the hands of the society. The society should try and give PWDs the same chances given to other people in life, so that they will as well be proud of their existence in life, and also be able to reach their dreams and aspirations. If society is not willing to help PWDs, what would be the essence of the implementation of the act?
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