Source: Acquah Anthony
As part of the celebration of the International Women’s Day, three Ghanaian Civil Society Organizations, SOCODEVI, A Rocha Ghana and Friedrich – Ebert – Stiftung Economic Policy Compence ( FES-EPCC ) have urged women to stand and amplify their voices in the fight against illegal mining in the country because it has negative impact on women and children.
The project lead for SOCODEVI, Mrs. Martha Opoku Mensah, said galamsey, also known as illegal mining, hurts women and youth, especially in the areas where such activities take place.
Water bodies in the affected communities have been destroyed and women have to travel a long distance to fetch safe water.
She indicated that the menace also causes abnormalities in childbearing and therefore encouraged women to make their opinions or beliefs publicly known especially when such action may cause trouble, to save our communities. “It’s time for women who care about this issue to stand up and be counted”, she emphasized.
SOCODEVI is an organisation that supports cooperatives and helps them to consolidate as catalysts of inclusive, sustainable socio-economic development. Its ultimate goal is to improve the living conditions of families in developing countries.
It also engaged with residents at Akoraboukrom in the Atwima Mponuah district of the Ashanti and the residents lamented the negative effects of illegal mining
Also, Mrs. Hannah Koranteng, the Associate Executive Director, WACAM, added that women are the custodians of resources and they have a take in the governance of the natural resources.
She clarified, “If institutions or states are not looking after the interest of women, then women need to organize themselves so that their voices could be heard.”
WACAM is a premier community based human rights and environmental mining advocacy NGO in Ghana with a community – based focus. It was founded in 1998 and has worked to respond to the social, environmental and economic problems that had resulted from the increased mining of the third gold rush.
