Dozens of women who attempted to get information from government agencies and departments say they are disappointed at public officials’ refusal to disclose information that ought to be unrestricted.

Women of various categories – literate or non-literate, with or without disability, students, journalists visited various assemblies, police stations, ministries, department and agencies to ask for information required for public consumption but they were denied access under the pretext that it was a state secret, the Right to Information (RTI) Coalition said.

“Information in the custody of local authorities is difficult to access, most of those who made the requests did not receive the information they requested from the District Assemblies, in their [the assemblies] view the definition of ‘public’ does not include an individual person,” Mrs Ugonna Ukaigwe, RTI Coalition Project Coordinator, said at a validation meeting on access to information in Ghana.

Speaking on findings of a pilot project on the gender dimension of access of information in Ghana, Mrs Ukaigwe said the difficulties of accessing information from public institutions had little or nothing to do with ones’ gender.

“But what is evident is that most public institutions are unwilling to give out information, often times information that ought to be proactively disclosed is made to look like state’s secret,” she said.

She said public officers decisions to release or not to release information are based on their “parochial understanding” of what the right to information entails.

Mrs Ukaigwe said women and persons with disabilities are subjected to the same rigorous procedures and protocols any person seeking similar information.

“However, your familiarity with officials of a particular institution may facilitate access to information,” she added.

“Disabled men and women go through the same kinds of challenges when trying to access information, despite their disability, they are compelled to make several follow ups,” she explained.

She said 15 persons selected for the project were granted access based on existing institutional policies or the public officers’ perception or interpretation of existing policies.