Nana obtained an LLB and BL, from the University of Ghana and the Ghana School of Law in 1994 and 1996 respectively. After practicing with a Commercial Law Firm, Hesse and Larsey, Nana worked as Legal Officer with the Secretariat of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in Banjul, the Gambia; and the African Society of International and Comparative Law in Accra. Nana spearheaded the establishment of a legal division for the Women’s Initiative for Self-Empowerment (WISE) and volunteered as WISE legal counsel. She was the Coordinator of the National Coalition on Domestic Violence Legislation in Ghana and is a member of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA), the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) and the Gender Violence Survivors Support Network (GVSSN). Nana is also a member of the Legal Services Board in Ghana.
Nana, previously a visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Human Rights Advocate Training Programme, completed her Masters in Law at New York University and has worked with Media Foundation for West Africa and the Center for the Study of Human Rights, Columbia University, in establishing a West and Central Africa Human Rights Institute. She joined the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) as Governance Program Officer in 2005 and was OSIWA’s Country Coordinator in Nigeria from 2006 to 2008. From September 2008 to 2009, Nana was the Regional Policy Advisor for IBIS West Africa. She is currently the Executive Director of the West Africa Civil Society Institute (WACSI).
What does your experience tell you about being a woman activist/leader in civil society?
That I can reach the highest level I want to get to if I work hard. That I have space to express what I feel and make my voice heard. That in some circles such as the 'human rights' circles,' I am even more privileged. However, it also tells me that our patriarchal society will not listen to me as readily as they would a male colleague. I was once told by a participant in a meeting that we held to explain the domestic violence bill of Ghana, that a woman can never have as much sense as a man, no matter the level of education. That was rare though, I must admit, but to have someone not actually think it, but say so publicly was quite shocking. It also tells me that as a woman activist, sometimes people put you in a certain box, especially when the issue you are pushing relates to women's rights...'the un-married, divorced, frustrated, man eater box'. I also learnt that as a woman you are not expected to travel away from your husband and for many, my staying away for my husband for over three years working in other countries was difficult to accept.
What is your leadership journey?
It started from birth. As the first born of four and christened the name of an ashanti queen mother warrior, my fate was written in the stars. I never heard the end of it 'you are the first, and must set a good example for the others to follow'. So it started from home and continued throughout my journey through primary school, secondary school, the university, law school. I took up leadership positions at all these levels. When my boss left the first civil society organisation I worked with at a time when it was in dire straits, I took up the leadership mantle. In my work as a civil society actor and activist, I have had women mentors that I have looked up to and been inspired by. I led the national coalition on the domestic violence bill in Ghana and during that period learnt so much about the challenges of leadership, particularly that of leading a coalition. I also had great support from others, and they were not always women. I have led a project to establish a West Africa human rights network in Ghana, led the governance programme of OSIWA in Dakar and the OSIWA Nigeria office. The position of Executive Director of WACSI is just a continuation of that journey.
What are the barriers and enablers that women face as leaders/activists in civil society?
The main barriers are:
- The challenge of balancing work and family life
- Having to make career development sacrifices because you want to keep the family together
- The patriarchal societal attitude towards women in leadership roles
- The lack of support from other women whom you would expect to understand and support just because they are women as well
The enablers are:
- More space for expression
- A better appreciation of women's rights especially within the human rights sector
- A little more flexibility than one might find in the 'for profit' world when it comes to having to get the space needed to address issues like maternity and related matters
- The support of other women who could be mentors
Do women get treated differently in the third sector because of their gender? Do you think you need to prove that you are as good as male counterparts?
In my experience, that has not been the case within the sector because I have worked mainly in the human rights and governance sectors. In the public, where I meet colleagues, both male and female, most seem to appreciate women in leadership positions and give equal respect once they acknowledge your expertise in your area,
Is there a sector pay gap between women and men?
Within the third sector, that has not been my experience. But, again, as I mentioned earlier, it may be because of the areas that I have worked in generally. I have not had any evidence, or heard of anything to the contrary either.
What recommendations would you make to address the challenges faced by women in civil society?
- There needs to be support systems put in place to enable women working within the third sector to balance family and work
- The continuous sensitisation and the change of patriarchal structures within our societies should not stop because the woman working within the civil society sector needs that wider societal support to reach her leadership potential. She cannot find it in civil society alone.
- There’s a need to have more women within civil society supporting each other. There isn’t enough of that.