Violence against Women and Girls: Female Filmmakers Critique the Menace

Abstract

the global fight against gender inequality and social injustice has grown steadily, and after many years of dedication, it has become indisputably a priority for global and national development that is reshaping policies and decision-making. The integration of the agenda for gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment with Ghana’s national development efforts has yielded some modest progress.1 For example, the enactment of various laws and policies has increased girls’ access to education. As a result, there are now more girls than boys in primary schools (Florence Muhanguzi 6), and there is growth in the number of women engaged in the workforce as entrepreneurs (Entsie). Regardless of these gains, new and complex forms of genderbased violence are emerging in the current technology-mediated digital environment. Examples of these are various forms of cyberviolence and cyberbullying. Besides, some age-old forms of violence against women and girls (VAWG), such as sexual assault, sexual exploitation, rape, domestic violence, female genital mutilation (FGM),2 witchcraft accusations against women, ritual servitude known as Trokosi,3 and child marriages, have persisted for centuries. Ghana’s government enshrined its commitment to women’s rights in its 1992 constitution—specifically covering protection of fundamental human rights and freedom, right to life, personal liberty, respect for human dignity, protection from slavery and forced labor, protection from discrimination, and protection of the rights of women and children. Ghana also ratified several international human rights instruments, including the 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, the 2000 Millennium Development Goals, the 2003 Maputo Protocol, the 2004 African Union Solemn Declaration on Gender Equality in Africa, and the 2015 Sustainable Development Agenda, to defend the principles of gender equality and social justice for women and girls. These international and regional agreements have informed the formulation of national policies such as the National Gender Policy and Justice for Children Policy to provide comprehensive frameworks to respond to entrenched social injustices that undermine equity for women and girls. They also led to the institutionalization of, for example, the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs in 2001, now called the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, tasked to drive policy change and contribute to national growth by achieving equality and equity for all. Certainly, commitments to addressing gender inequality and various forms of genderbased violence are evident, even though more Violence against Women and Girls: Female Filmmakers Critique the Menace