1.
Gender in the Light of Customary Norms and
Statutes
The Ghana Experience in Mainstreaming
Gender into REDD+
Saadia Bobtoya Owusu-Amofah (Mrs.)
(IUCN Ghana REDD Project Officer)
3&4 December, 2015
IIED workshop on engaging men and women in REDD+, COP21, Paris 1

2.
OUTLINE
 Background
 Customary/Traditional Law (CL) and Statutory Law
(SL)
 Gender in the light of CL vs SL
 Efforts to Address Contradictions and Potential
Impacts
 Gender and REDD+ in Ghana
 The Goal of Gender Mainstreaming
 Lessons from Ghana Experience in Mainstreaming
REDD+ into Ghana REDD Process (Approach, Process,
Strategies, Challenges)
 Conclusion
2

3.
Background
 The 1992 Constitution of Ghana (Article 17) provides for the
fundamental human rights and freedoms of all citizens.
 Outlines rights to equality and freedom from discrimination on
grounds of gender, ethnic origin, social or economic status.
 Land resources in Ghana are governed to a large extent by statutory
and customary laws.
 The Constitution recognises customary law, thus issues of rights can be
contested by both statutory and customary laws.
 Customary and statutory laws operate within the same social context,
particularly marriage, divorce, inheritance, land tenure, etc.
 These dynamics have significant implications on access, use and
control of resources by women and men and hence implications for
natural resource based interventions such as REDD+ i.e. Inclusive
Participation, Rights, Equity, Benefit Sharing, etc
3

4.
Customary/ Traditional Law (CL)
 About 80% of lands in the country are under the ownership
and control of customary authorities in the form of
stools/skins, families, clans, and land priests or heads of
communities (remaining 20%, vested in the state)
 Customary tenure systems vary significantly between the North
and South of Ghana and between ethnic groups
 Largely unwritten /undocumented, based on local practices
and norms that are location-specific
 Usually managed by a traditional ruler/chief, land priest,
council of elders, family or clan heads.
 Matrilineal and Patrilineal Systems of Inheritance
4

5.
Statutory Law (SL)
 Statutory land system is codified, written statutes and
regulations
 Management is by government administrators and
bodies having delegated authority.
 The principles under girding this system are derived
from citizenship, nation building, and constitutional
rights.
 Land rights are allocated and confirmed through the
issue of titles or other forms of registration of
ownership
5

6.
Gender in the Light of Customary Vs Statutory Law
 Certain aspects of CL contradict principles of gender equality and non-
discrimination
 Women occupy a disadvantaged position because of patriarchal structures /
systems.
 Generally, women have equal user rights for forest resources as men, but not
the same for control and decision making
 However, challenges exist for women in different regions due to traditional
customs:
– limited control of land tenure/inheritance systems (mainly in the north-
however exceptions exist e.g. cocoa areas in Western Region)
– limited access and control over forest resources;
– limited participation in decision making due to high level of illiteracy, limited
time and economic dependency on the male counterpart
 More women are poorer than men, which is a reflection of access patterns to
resources and privileges enjoyed by the different sexes. 6

7.
Efforts to Help Address These Contradictions/
Their Impacts
 Changing customs that discriminate
against women remains a challenge
because they are enshrined in the
behaviours/ beliefs and values of
people and may have existed over
several decades/generations.
 However, where FEASIBLE, efforts made
to gradually effect change through
sensitisation, advocacy , enactment
and implementation of polices and
laws
- Gender Advocacy groups and
organisations
- Affirmative Action Bill
- Property Rights of Spouses Bill
- Review of Interstate Succession Law
(PNDC Law 111, 1985) 7

8.
Efforts Contd.
 Being creative and working within
customs/ traditions
- Meeting women separately from
men during engagements
- Meeting times and approaches
chosen with women’s gender/
household roles in mind
- Interventions considering varied
interests between men and women
- Would supporting women with
additional livelihoods opportunities
rather than cash reduce potential
for conflict in their homes??
8

9.
Efforts Contd.
 Informal justice systems which
constitute the most accessible
forms of dispute resolution
being strengthened with
knowledge and improved
capacity .
- Queen mothers/ women
traditional leaders as agents of
change and role models in their
communities
- Education and sensitisation of
traditional leaders (chiefs and
queen mothers)on gender
issues
- Communities especially women
sensitised on available
platforms for conflict resolution 9

10.
Gender and
REDD+ in
Ghana
10
https://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloa
ds/ghana_gender_and_redd_road
_map_press_copy_final.pdf

11.
Goal of Gender Mainstreaming into
REDD+ in Ghana
 Give both men and women equal
opportunity to access, to participate
in, contribute to, and henceforth
benefit from various forestry policies,
programs and funds.
 Thus, contribute to environmental
and social sustainability
 Also ensure that Ghana’s National
REDD strategy development and
implementation is gender sensitive
and meets international
social/safeguards standards.
 Necessary data generated to highlight
good practices, while guidelines are
produced for projects
11

12.
Approach and Process
12

13.
Strategies Include
 Establish and train a gender MS advocacy to spearhead the gender
mainstreaming process and provide technical support in the review of REDD+
documents and processes to ensure gender sensitivity, as well as capacity
building at the grassroots level.
 Mainstreaming of Gender Considerations into Natural Resources and
Environment Policies to address inequalities
 Strengthening the capacity of women and women groups through education,
additional livelihood support, value addition, improved access to markets, etc
 Ensuring balanced participation of women and men in REDD+ pilot activities
 Development of Gender sensitive benefit sharing schemes
 Avoiding negative impacts of REDD+ and enhancing positives
 Institutional Capacity strengthening in gender issues
 Mentoring of young girls to develop and maintain interest in the forestry sector13

14.
Progress/ Achievements
 The Roadmap is serving as a guide for other REDD+ processes .e.g. Draft
REDD+ strategy and SESA process have built in gender considerations
based on the Road map and action plan.
 National REDD+ Gender Sub-Working Group (GSWG) established, trained and
functioning as key component of Ghana’s National REDD+ Architecture
 Designation of a GENDER DESK at the National REDD+ Secretariat –support
effective lobbying for needed attention to gender issues. (-BS, FGRM,
Strategy, SESA)
 The MLNR has also engaged the services of a gender Desk Officer who will
lead on gender mainstreaming into the FIP activities.
 Inclusion of Gender considerations into the National Climate Change Policy as
a standalone focal area.
14

15.
Challenges
 Lack of funds to comprehensively implement Roadmap strategies and
Action Plans
 Weak institutional structures for ensuring gender equality and equity
within policy, or weak capacity to enforce mandates on gender
 Lack of understanding of the value of gender equality and women’s
empowerment for ensuring or enhancing the achievements of REDD+
initiatives
 Misconceptions about gender advocacy (e.g., that it may undermine
men’s positions or power, etc)
 Inadequate knowledge and capacity, preventing women from
participating meaningfully in decision making at all levels and ensuring
that their interests are taken into account
15

16.
Conclusion
 The dynamics of CL and SL within the context of marriage, divorce, inheritance,
custody and land tenure have significant implications on access, use and
control of resources by women and men and hence implications for natural
resource based interventions such as REDD+ i.e. Inclusive Participation, Rights,
Equity, Benefit Sharing, etc
 Land is a key resource for the livelihoods of the majority of our population.
Thus, those who control land and its resources also gain social and political
power and authority. As such, women’s unequal land rights affect their access
to other resources and their economic, social and political status.
 Gender Actions could therefore be at 2 fronts- identifying aspects of
customary law that could be influenced to enhance gender equality, whilst also
making use of opportunities that exist to work around or within some exiting
cultural norms.
 Knowing the right approach to use for each situation/ context is therefore
critical in avoiding conflict or resistance and achievement of results/ change
(even if slow) 16

17.
THANK YOU
Saadia.Bobtoya@iucn.org
www.iucn.org3&4 December, 2015 17