Justice Annie Ruth Jiagge

 The story of Ghana’s strug­gle for independence had often been told with men leading its agenda.

State ceremonies such as founder’s day often laud the efforts of Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ako Adjei, Edward Akuffo Addo, Obetsebi Lamptey, Ofori Atta and Joseph Boakye Dan­quah in the country’s quest for independence.

Ghana’s independence from the British colonial rule was led by Dr Kwame Nkru­mah, but he did not do it all by himself.

Apart from the support he had from men, women also played important roles in the struggle for independence.

But most often the story of Ghana’s struggle for indepen­dence showing the roles and contributions of women to the development of the country is either scanty or not mentioned at all.

In his inaugural speech, it is said that Dr Kwame Nkru­mah praised two women for their roles played during in the struggle. These women were Rebecca Naa Dedei Aryeetey also known as Naa Dedei Ash­inkinshan who was a political activist, businesswoman and a feminist and Akua Shorshoor­shor

Some other women who were pivotal in the struggle for independence and its de­velopment were Ama Nkrumah a political activist and Sophia Oboshie Doku, a devoted female activist and the first female parliamentarian,

Other women were Mabel Dove Danquah a journalist and a politician, Agnes Oforiwaa Tagoe-Quarcoopome a market queen and a business woman at Makola and Okaishie and Susan Alhassan, an author and a politician.

These women used their influence, resources and knowledge to help bring Dr Kwame Nkrumah to power and also championed the cause of women in the country.

Also, there were women groups such as the Convention People’s Party (CPP) Women’s Wing, the All- African Wom­en’s League which was later renamed to Ghana Women’s League (GWL) in 1960 and the Federation of Gold Coast Women (FGCW).

These women’s group brought significant change in the living conditions of other Ghanaian women.

Annie Ruth Jiagge

A lot of women had shaped the discourse on the role of women in nation building and development and one of such is Annie Ruth Jiagge

Annie Ruth Jiagge was the first woman in Ghana to be­come an Appeals Court Judge and an outstanding women rights advocate at both Na­tional and International levels

Born in Lome Togo, she later relocated to Keta in the then British Togoland due to the decision of her parents for her to learn the English language.

She had her secondary school education at Achimo­ta College with the plan of following her parents’ foot­steps to become a teacher like them. She later went through teacher training and gradu­ated in 1937 with her certifi­cate.

After teaching for six years, she realised she want­ed a life beyond the class­room, hence her decision to pursue law, took a bold step and applied to the London school of Economics and Polit­ical Science in 1946 and she was admitted.

She got to the London School of Economics and Political Science where she sat for her first examination and smoothly passed with flying colours. After that, Annie successfully went through her studies, graduated with her LLB in 1949 and got called to the bar in 1950.

When she returned to Gold Coast in 1950, she went straight into private practice and worked as a practising barrister in the chambers of Mr K.A. Bossman in Accra.

Later, she became a mag­istrate in 1953. Three years later she was promoted to the position of a senior magis­trate. In 1959 she was ap­pointed a judge of the Circuit Court of Ghana.

Annie Ruth Jiagge was later appointed by the Nkru­mah Government as a Judge of the High Court of Ghana in 1961 and from that same year to 1976 Justice Jiagge was a council member of the Univer­sity of Ghana.

During that period she rep­resented Ghana on the United Nations Commission in 1966. While a member of the Com­mission she was exposed to the nature of violence against women worldwide, which fu­elled her passion to advocate the cause of women.

In 1969, Justice Jiagge was appointed Judge of the Court of Appeal, a position she served until 1980, and later became its president. She re­mained president of the court of Appeal until her retirement in 1983.

In 1975, Justice Jiag­ge founded and served as the first Chair of the Ghana National Council on Women and Development aimed at the integration of women in development and eliminating discrimination against wom­en.

Justice Jiagge through ed­ucation, professional training and experience understood the multiple of constraints that burdened women and sought resolution for them in law and through public policy.

She addressed social issues affecting women and their relation to law and also focused on the legal regu­lation of issues such as the age of marriage, consent to marriage, registration of marriages, maintenance and custody of children as well as inheritance and divorce.

Justice Jiagge was a pio­neer in the micro-credit space as she was instrumental in the establishment of the Women’s Bank now known as Women’s World Banking (WWB) that continues to work till date with financial institutions in 32 countries, providing loans to some 24 million small en­trepreneurs around the world out of which 80 per cent are women.

She was nicknamed “quiet heroine” because she under­stood the pain of women and helped alleviate it.

Justice Jiagge is being celebrated as an astute legal luminary and jurist who made significant impact across the globe. She played instrumen­tal role in the formulation of women’s right as human rights that are enshrined in interna­tional law.

Justice Jiagge’s legacy still persists as she inspired many women in Ghana to pursue legal careers. For instance, Justice Joyce Bamford Addo became the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court and later became the first woman Speaker of Parlia­ment in Ghana. For instance, Justice Joyce Bamford Addo became the first woman to be appointed to the Supreme Court and later became the first woman Speaker of Parlia­ment in Ghana.

Today’s Woman

In an interview with an Ed­ucationist, Mr Anis Haffar, on the role of women in Ghana’s development, he said in the African culture women had played key roles in societies citing Yaa Asantewaa, the Ashanti Queen warrior as an example.

He said in the organisa­tion of societies, the role of women is key, explaining that “they are the nourishing aspect of societies, so wom­en’s role have always been predominant except that they have not been showcased.”

He said currently things had changed and there were models all around for upcom­ing girls and young women to look up to.

According to Mr Haffar, there are women in industry, law, education and research and entrepreneurship and that it does not take the law to identify women who had played significant roles in society.

He mentioned that it would not be difficult for today’s women to identify a particular woman they want to emulate adding that a cross section of women are doing notable things in the society.

He challenged young women to be proactive and be able to define what their contribution to the society would be and focus on devel­oping self-agencies.

“There was a time where women had to be validated by men but things have changed. If we look at Efua Sutherland, Ama Atta Aidoo and the rest of them, they were not vali­dated by men. They validated themselves. They developed a substantial agencies for themselves.”

“They stood on their own two feet and what that does is that, it’s going to embold­en others that these are role models and it is not the typ­ical situation where mothers were home keepers. They had an extra-ordinary role to play but unfortunately we do not elevate them to the same levels as we elevated men,” Mr Haffar said.

Mr Haffar said stronger women excel so the younger women need to be strong, develop strong agencies for themselves explaining that today’s woman has to stand on her own and not be intim­idated.

 By Jemima Esinam Kuatsinu