Women still vulnerable and ignorant.

A National Institutional Renewal Programme research has revealed that majority of Ghanaian women remain vulnerable and ignorant of where to seek redress for the violations of their rights as provided for under the constitution. In a society like Ghana's, where traditions tend to limit the access to basic rights of women in the home and at the workplace, one would have thought that the Commission for Human rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ), the ultimate cheaper court of last resort for redress, will be popular to women. The report was made available to over 300 politicians, members of the security agencies, parliamentarians and opinion leaders by Dr. Appiah Koranteng, National Co-ordinator, NIPR, at a national workshop on accountability and transparency in Accra. Dubbed "Planning and Execution of Accountability and Transparency Survey", the survey sampled 1200 people in 20 districts - two each in a region - last year to find out the extent of knowledge Ghanaians have on transparency and accountability in the political process. It said: "Though women constitute 58 per cent, they were less, in relation to their size in the sample, satisfied with political performance and financial accountability as compared to men. The same pattern is observed in the level of awareness of names or existence, functions and obligations towards the governance entities. The report therefore recommended that the workshop give adequate attention to strategies that will raise the level of awareness of women and society to enhance the promotion of accountability and transparency in the decision making process of the country.