By James Amoh Junior
Accra, June 19, GNA – Young women in Ghana have been urged to equip themselves with knowledge on spousal property rights and legal protections available under national, regional and international frameworks.
This is to safeguard their economic security during marriage, divorce and inheritance disputes.
The call was made at a training workshop on “Property Rights of Spouses in Ghana through the Lens of the Maputo Protocol and General Comment No. 6 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights,” organised by the Institute for Gender Equality and Development (IGED-Africa) in Accra.
The workshop brought together young women, legal practitioners, gender advocates and human rights experts to deepen understanding of property rights, marriage, inheritance and economic justice, while promoting awareness of the Maputo Protocol as a key instrument for advancing women’s rights in Africa.
Ms Sylvia Horname Noagbesenu, Executive Director of IGED-Africa, said many women in Africa remained unaware of regional legal frameworks designed to protect their rights, despite the existence of several international and national instruments.
She noted that while many people were familiar with international conventions on women’s rights, awareness of African Union mechanisms such as the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Maputo Protocol remained relatively low.
Ms Noagbesenu explained that the Maputo Protocol, formally known as the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique, in 2003 to address gaps in the protection of women’s rights across the continent.
She described the Protocol as one of Africa’s most progressive legal instruments, covering a broad range of issues including protection from violence, harmful cultural practices, marriage rights, reproductive health, political participation, economic empowerment and property rights.
According to her, Article Seven of the Protocol guarantees equal rights of spouses in relation to jointly acquired property during marriage and calls for equitable distribution of such property in cases of divorce, separation or annulment.
She said one of the major challenges had been the interpretation of the concept of “equitable distribution,” which was not clearly defined in the Protocol.
To address the gap, IGED-Africa and partner organisations engaged the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights over several years, leading to the adoption of General Comment No. 6 in 2020.
The General Comment, she explained, recognised both financial and non-financial contributions made by spouses, including unpaid domestic work, childcare and household management, in determining equitable distribution of property.
Dr Rose Buabeng of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) said the workshop formed part of efforts to strengthen young women’s understanding of their rights and empower them to advocate fairness and justice within their communities.
She noted that women’s contributions to families and communities often extended beyond financial resources to include care, labour, knowledge and emotional support, yet such contributions were frequently overlooked when issues of property ownership and inheritance arose.
“Knowledge is a powerful tool for transformation. When young women understand their rights, they are better positioned to make informed decisions, advocate themselves and others, and contribute to building more just and equitable societies,” she said.
Dr Buabeng commended IGED-Africa for creating awareness on an issue that continued to affect many women who often suffered in silence due to stigma and social pressures.
Addressing participants on the role of the courts in resolving spousal property disputes, Justice Samuel Djanie Kotey, a High Court judge said Ghana’s legal position on matrimonial property had evolved significantly over the years.
He explained that under customary law in the past, women were generally not entitled to property acquired during marriage because their contributions were viewed merely as assistance to their husbands.
However, subsequent legal developments and judicial decisions had shifted the focus towards recognising both direct and indirect contributions made by spouses.
Justice Kotey said the current legal position presumed that property acquired during the subsistence of a marriage were jointly acquired and should ordinarily be shared equally upon divorce unless evidence suggested otherwise.
He stressed that courts now take into account non-financial contributions such as childcare, homemaking and support services that enabled a spouse to pursue economic activities.
“Keeping a home running is work. Taking care of children is work. These are contributions that the courts increasingly recognise when determining property rights,” he said.
Justice Kotey added that although Article 22 of the 1992 Constitution required Parliament to enact legislation regulating property rights of spouses, successive Parliaments had yet to pass a comprehensive spousal property rights law more than three decades after the Constitution came into force.
Participants engaged in discussions on practical measures women could adopt to protect their property rights, including documenting contributions, understanding legal processes and seeking legal advice when necessary.
They called for increased public education, stronger legal protections and accelerated efforts to pass legislation that would provide greater clarity and certainty on spousal property rights in Ghana.
GNA
Edited by George-Ramsey Benamba
Reporter: James Amoh Junior
Email: [email protected]