Bilkis Nuhu Kokroko writes: An emotion-filled night

1. Wednesday 8 March marked another day for the celebration of the International Women’s Day (IWD) around the world. This day is marked with organisations that work towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They come together to assess the progress that has been achieved.

The day, for many activists and advocates, serves as a platform to promote gender equality. It is meant to celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women while raising awareness about the ongoing struggles that women face.

IWD has been celebrated annually since the early 1900s for equality. The theme for 2023 was to #EmbraceEquity. The United Nations officially recognized 8 March as IWD. It has become a day where women’s rights are discussed, with equity and parity being sought.

HOPE FOR HER Foundation marked this year’s IWD with “kayayeis” (female head porters) in Accra. The foundation dedicates an average of 70 hours every week in the kayayei community interacting with them, collecting data as well as eliciting responses to various social issues affecting them.

This means the girls are available to talk to the foundation in the evenings on weekdays and on Sundays when there are no loads to carry. HOPE FOR HER Foundation planned a series of events for the whole of March to commemorate IWD.

Edutainment approach

On 5 March, the foundation, under PROJECT HOPE, organised volunteers to facilitate focus group discussions on migration and sexual health with women from the kayayei community. The team was joined by two student interns from Passau University in Germany.

After implementing many social interventions for women, the foundation has discovered that a combination of education and entertainment, known as edutainment, is a more effective means of engagement. This gave some insight on preparations for the IWD celebration.

The team agreed to reschedule the commemoration of IWD from Wednesday 8 March to Sunday 12 March. This was to enable the women and girls in the kayayei community to attend the event on Sunday evening after all the kayayei work had been completed on Saturday.

Saturdays are observed as market days in Accra Central. It is one of the busiest days for the kayayei. On the day of the event, the team showed a documentary by Aljazeera Network on the life of kayayeis.

The film told the story of an eight-year-old girl, Baamunu, who had gone to Accra to work as a kayayei. Baamunu shared her displeasure for the work and how she was compelled to stay in Accra. She had very little knowledge of arithmetic, thus, she could not keep up with her savings.

When she returned home to her family in the Northern Region, she received a warm welcome from everyone except her father, who seemed discontent. He wanted her to return to Accra. She was made to return to Accra to engage in the kayayei work.

The over 100 participants at the event were quite emotional. They could identify with Baamunu’s experience. Baamunu’s story is not exclusive to her. There are many families who depend on their young children as a source of livelihood.

Dangers

The event continued with a discussion with the women on experience as internal migrants, highlighting the dangers faced sleeping on the bare floor to save money for themselves. One participant stated that she would not allow her child to work as a kayayei in Accra. She said “I don’t think I will let my child come to Accra for kayayie, as a mother who has been in this business for a while.”

She added that they treat children in the kayayei business as competitors because they compete with them for the same goods. The emotions were simmering at this point. One of the interns, Janina, could not believe that the women lived in open spaces and did not enjoy the same privileges she has as a young woman. She had come face-to-face with the experience of kayayei.

One question that kept coming up: what is the government doing to end exploitation in the rural-urban migration space. Why are the laws on child protection not punishing parents who send their underaged children to Accra to work for money?

Article one of the Children’s Act of 1998 says a child as a person below the age of eighteen years. Sub-section two of article two of the same act states that the best interest of the child shall be paramount in any matter concerning the child.

Article five of the act states that every child has the right to grow up with his/her parents. It states further that no person shall deny a child the right to live with his/her parents and family and the right to grow up in a caring and peaceful environment unless it is proved in court that living with his/her parents would:

(a) lead to significant harm to the child; or

(b) subject the child to serious abuse; or

(c) not be in the best interest of the child.

Other articles in the act that address issues of child protection have been listed below:

Article six speaks on parental duty and responsibility. It says:

(1) No parent shall deprive a child his welfare whether –

1. a) The parents of the child are married or not at the time of the child’s birth; or
2. b) The parents of the child continue to live together or not.

(2) Every child has the right to life, dignity, respect, leisure, liberty, health, education and shelter from his parents.

(3) Every parent has rights and responsibilities whether imposed by law or otherwise towards his child which include the duty to –

(a) protect the child from neglect, discrimination, violence, abuse, exposure to physical and moral hazards and oppression;

(b) provide good guidance, care, assistance and maintenance for the child and assurance of the child’s survival and development;

(c) ensure that in the temporary absence of a parent, the child shall be cared for by a competent person and that a child under eighteen months of age shall only be cared for by a person of fifteen years and above

except where the parent has surrendered his rights and responsibilities in accordance with law.

The law is very clear on the role parents play in raising children in a way that protects the wellbeing and best interests of children. This means the law is against children engaging in kayayei business to earn a living for themselves and their families. One tends to wonder why this is happening notwithstanding the provisions of the law.

The kayayeis live in market centres in Agbogbloshie, Mallam Atta, Accra Central and other market centres because they want to make money to send home to their families. The president announced, in the 2023 state of the nation address in March, that there are plans to build hostels for kayayeis.

Gender parity

HOPE FOR HER Foundation is a Ghanaian-based non-profit organisation born out of the urgent need to provide SMART solutions to pressing women’s problems such as education, economic empowerment, gender parity and health.

It was founded by Yakubu Tobor Yusuf and Bilkis Nuhu Kokroko in 2012 but attained legal recognition in 2018. Prior to 2018, the foundation engaged women through initiatives aimed at developing sustainable solutions.

These include a World AIDS Day programme in 2015, a skills training project in 2016 and a health awareness walk in 2017. We featured in UNICEF’s photography competition in Kumasi in 2015.

We have adapted unique and progressive approaches with tested modules in addressing key problems facing women and children in Ghana. We are committed to ensuring that our impact is felt in the most remote and neglected communities.

The kayayei community is one we hold dear as an organization. Kayayei refers to an army of young women in Ghana’s major market centres who work as head potters carrying load for traders. They are mostly from northern Ghana.

We recognize that other organizations and individuals have made efforts towards addressing the issue at hand, however, we approach it from a new perspective. We seek to understand why the problem persists despite the considerable financial investments to address it.

Over the past six years, we have developed and refined modules which, we believe, can provide sustainable solutions. However, we acknowledge that we cannot achieve this goal as a single entity. Therefore, we seek the support of other civil society organisations (CSOs) with the necessary resources to help us implement the modules we have painstakingly developed.

UNICEF indicates that there are no reliable figures on the number of children affected by child labour in its worse forms like the sale of children, child prostitution and trafficking. Notwithstanding the challenges with reliable data, UNICEF says the majority of child victims of trafficking are girls.

UNICEF says child labour affects almost two million children in Ghana. This a problem which UNICEF blames on the poor enforcement of laws on child labour.

For me as a young woman, I believe strongly that although society believes it is doing its best to curb the menace of child labour and the kayayei situation, not much has been done. Most of these women who come from northern Ghana to stay in urban centres tell stories of how difficult it is to survive.

Members of parliament in these areas should be able to propose and follow up on implementation of laws that seek to protect the women and children in their constituencies for the wellbeing of the future generations.

We should remember the issue of kayayei has been in existence for years. If radical measures are not put in place, many more young women and children will migrate urban areas in search of greener pastures. Child victims of this abuse, like Baamunu, are denied their right to education although the Free Compulsory Universal Basic Education (FCUBE) is still in effect.

Children’s rights and women’s rights are human rights. As we work to achieve the sustainable development goals, we should remember that, despite our efforts, many women and children are migrating to urban centres in search of greener pastures through no fault of theirs.

Our efforts as development agents should be towards seeking lasting solutions for these women and children. As we choose a day to celebrate women, let us make sure we work towards making the lives of women and children easier through our individual and collective efforts.

Bilkis Nuhu Kokroko

The writer is a development advocate, a women’s right advocate, an activist, a feminist, a co-founder of HOPE FOR HER Foundation, founder of Muslimah Mentorship Network and a member of the Institute of Public Relations. You can reach her via bilkisnkokroko@gmail.com

Asaase Radio 99.5 broadcasts on radio via 99.5 in Accra, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 100.3 in Cape Coast and on our affiliates Bawku FM 101.5 in Bawku, Beats FM 99.9 in Bimbilla, Somua FM 89.9 in Gushegu, Stone City 90.7 in Ho, Mining City 89.5 in Tarkwa and Wale FM 106.9 in Walewale
Tune in or log on to broadcasts online: www.asaaseradio.com, Sound Garden and TuneIn
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
Live streaming: facebook.com/asaaseradio99.5. Also on YouTube: Asaase Radio Official.
Join the conversation. Call: 020 000 9951 or 059 415 7777. Or WhatsApp: 020 000 0995.
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand