Women In Accra March Against Violence

Women and men dressed in all black attire took to the streets of Accra, Ghana on Saturday, 21st September 2019 in a peaceful march to raise awareness about Violence on Women. The March organized by the Safe Space foundation (a non-profit) comes after an announcement by the Ghana Police confirmed suspicions that the remains found in the residence of an alleged kidnapper were indeed the remains of 4 young ladies believed to have been kidnapped and murdered in Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana.

The case of the four young women Ruth Abekah (19), Priscilla Blessing (21), Ruthlove Quayson (18), Priscilla Mantebea Koranchie, (18) who went missing between July 2018 and December 2018 gripped the nation and led to a nationwide campaign titled #BringBackOurTaadiGirls which aimed add to raise awareness to the plight of the young girls and call for urgency to be applied to the investigation which was widely criticized as being inefficient. 

Although this March was intended in part to draw attention to the case of the missing girls, it was also meant to show solidarity with women everywhere who have been victims of gender-based violence especially the women in South Africa who have been targets of longstanding acts of gender-based violence such as rape and murder.






The protesters marched the streets of Accra on a hot Saturday in a march that started from the Polo Grounds at Airport and ended at Lokko House, Osu where a vigil was held for the victims and survivors of gender-based violence everywhere with survivors sharing their stories.









 

Although some passersby cheered on the protestors as they marched and chanted along with them to show their support for the cause, some passersby also heckled the protestors and shared their displeasure with the message of the cause which goes a long way to demonstrate the need for such organizations to create awareness gender-based violence and educate the public on the need to eradicate it.