The Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF-Ghana) and Oxfam in Ghana have called on government, traditional leaders and other key stakeholders to support and honor the demands of rural women proclaimed in the Kilimanjaro Initiative Charter of Demands as way of advancing women’s land rights in Ghana.

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WiLDAF Ghana and Oxfam in Ghana is using this opportunity to call on the Government of Ghana, traditional leaders and other key land stakeholders to support and honour the demands of rural women proclaimed in the Kilimanjaro Initiative Charter of Demands (Charter of Demands) as way of advancing women’s land rights in Ghana.

The Kilimanjaro Initiative is a campaign spearheaded by Civil Society Organisations which brought together over 500 rural women from across 22 African countries including Ghana to the foot of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, where they proclaimed a Charter of Demands on access to land and natural resources on October 15, 2016. The Charter of Demands was presented to the African Union, for onward presentation to UN Women.

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The Charter of Demands contains fifteen demands emanating from Rural Women on strengthening their land rights.

Six of these demands have been prioritised by key Ghanaian land and agricultural stakeholders as follows:

• Sensitization of leaders (Traditional, community, religious and land sector actors) youth, people with disabilities, and women on the laws and policies on land.
• Women empowerment by enabling them access their land rights, technology and financial resources to improve their livelihood.

• Ban harmful and oppressive cultural practices that undermine women’s rights including those that prohibit women to inherit land and other resources.
• Women and communities to have a say on what land, investors and companies invest in their communities. These investors must be obligated to provide information about the impact of their investment (sustainability- economic, environment, health, social and infrastructure)
• Enact and amend laws to provide safeguards to women’s land rights
• Translate land policies and laws into simplified versions and accessible local languages

WiLDAF Ghana and Oxfam reiterated its call on all land sector stakeholders to commit resources to the actualisation of the Charter of Demands in ensuring Rural Women farmers can access and control land and natural resources in Ghana.