Women at the bench: Does it make a difference? Assessing the impact of women judges in addressing gender-based issues in Ghana
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35295/osls.iisl/0000-0000-0000-1175Keywords:
Gender, Ghana, judging, spousal property, women judges, género, enjuiciamiento, propiedad conyugal, juezasAbstract
The impact of women judges in addressing gender-based issues, particularly in Africa, is largely under-researched both at the regional and country-specific levels. This paper researches on the impact of women judges in selected gender-based cases in Ghana – that is spousal property rights cases. The paper seeks to answer the primary question: in addressing spousal property rights in Ghana, have women at the bench made a difference? In answering this question, a doctrinal analysis of purposively selected cases was conducted which led to a finding that women judges did not make a difference in the development of the law on spousal property rights in Ghana. The findings and recommendations made in this paper are expected to contribute to the understanding of how female participation in judging gender-based cases have influenced and could potentially influence the interests and rights of women as well as to inform the policy choice of women judges.
Se ha investigado demasiado poco, tanto a nivel regional como nacional, sobre el efecto de que haya juezas que se ocupen de temas de género, sobre todo en África. Este artículo investiga el impacto de juezas en casos seleccionados, basados en género, de Ghana –es decir, casos de derecho de propiedad conyugal. El artículo busca responder a esta pregunta: ¿han marcado la diferencia las mujeres de la judicatura en cuanto a derechos de propiedad conyugal en Ghana? Se realizó un análisis doctrinal de casos seleccionados intencionalmente, y ello llevó a descubrir que no hubo tal diferencia. Esperamos que los hallazgos y recomendaciones recogidos en este artículo ayuden a comprender mejor cómo la participación de las mujeres en el enjuiciamiento de casos basados en género ha podido influir y puede influir potencialmente en los intereses y derechos de las mujeres; y, por otro lado, a informar la elección de políticas de las juezas.
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