Market queens tasked to lead fight against domestic violence

• Madam Malonin Asibi (right with mic) swearing in the committees

Market queens and leaders in big markets in Ghana have been tasked to lead the fight against of domestic violence and related family abuses.

This is because most of the markets in the country have large population mostly made up of women and some of the abuses take place there, as children visit their mothers after school hours.

A director at the Domestic Violence Secretariat of the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP), Madam Malonin Asibi said this at the inauguration of the market queens in Western Region after training them to solve minor domestic violence cases.

She said family problems were everywhere and the ministry did not want these problems to generate into major ones which might cause children to be on the streets and eventually lead them to be armed robbers or other hardened criminals.

Malonin Asibi noted that the market queens and other opinion leaders commanded respect at the various markets and, therefore, urged women with domestic violence problems to contact these committees to address their issues.

She explained that in a previous experiment conducted at six markets in Accra the committees performed creditably hence the decision by the Ministry to extend the advocacy training to Takoradi, Sekondi, Kojokrom, Apremdo and Jubilee Park Markets, all in the Western Region.

The Western Regional Director of the Ghana Legal Aid, Mrs. Sweetie Sowah said her outfit provided legal aid for those who could not afford a lawyer at the Law Courts.

She urged the women to approach her for amicable solution of their family problems because it was the best place for problem solving instead of going to the courts which delayed proceedings.

The Kojokrom Market Queen, Nana Grace Essandoh said the training was an eye opener and had empowered women to report cases of abuse and fight for their rights.

Mama Esssandoh advised all the traders at the various markets to approach the committees with any domestic violence issue for amicable solution adding “we will not favour women because we are women, be sure you have not abused your husbands.”

From Peter Gbambila, Kojokrom.