Skip to content
2000
Volume 1, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 2772-316X
  • E-ISSN: 2772-3178

Abstract

Background

Women and access to justice are global issues, especially in patriarchal societies. There is a surprisingly small body of research on access to justice in the informal court system in patriarchal societies. The purpose of this paper is to conduct an empirical qualitative study on a local court case and use the findings to provide a critical analysis of women and access to justice in the informal court setting in Ghana.

Methods

The exploratory qualitative research approach and phenomenological research design were used in the study, which followed Colaizzi's process of descriptive phenomenological data analysis. The study collected data from fifteen women who had used the informal court system to address their grievances using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions as data collection techniques. The data was collected tape recording and then transcribed word for word.

Results

The major themes that emerged from the research were as follows: (i) traditional gender roles as impediments to justice (ii) social harmony-based adjudication, and (iii) the social consequences of the court's decisions on the family households. Sub-themes are used to discuss these major themes. According to the findings, women cooking and taking care of children, behavioural socialisation norms, women as housewives, informal court decisions based on social harmony, masculine rulings, lack of appeal for cases, women experiencing marital divorce, and lack of enforcement for rulings were identified as significant factors influencing gender and access to justice among women in the informal court system.

Conclusion

Informal courts are accessible and affordable to women who do not have the privilege of using formal courts due to the cost involved; however, the courts' decisions are reconciliatory and do not provide women with equal access to justice. To provide fair justice to all people in rural communities, the informal courts should be integrated with the formal procedure. As a result of the findings, it is recommended that a comprehensive training programme for traditional court judges on land issues, inheritance, and family law, dispute resolution, as well as international human rights standards be implemented so they can handle cases in their respective jurisdictions.

© 2023 Bentham Science Publish
Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/css/10.2174/012772316X277583231229091308
2024-01-25
2025-09-04

  • From This Site

    /content/journals/css/10.2174/012772316X277583231229091308
    dcterms_title,dcterms_subject,pub_keyword
    -contentType:Contributor -contentType:Concept -contentType:Institution
    10
    5
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. LimaV. GomezM. Access to justice: Promoting the legal system as a human right. In: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.ChamSpringer2019110
     [Google Scholar]
  2. OlusegunO.O. OyeladeO.S. Access to justice for Nigerian women: A veritable tool to achieving sustainable development.Int. J. Discrim. Law202222142910.1177/13582291211043418
     [Google Scholar]
  3. MukhopadhyayM. QuinteroS. Gender and access to justice in sub-Saharan Africa.AmsterdamKIT and CALS2008
     [Google Scholar]
  4. NiyonkuruA.P. Gender and access to justice in Burundi: conflicting norms, gaps in the law and the role of judges.J. Leg. Plur. Unoff. Law202153357059210.1080/07329113.2021.1981036
     [Google Scholar]
  5. GarasumivT.Z. ChornopyskaV.Z. BaranA.V. Current problems of the impact of gender equality in the administration of justice in Ukraine.AUC IURIDICA202268220922310.14712/23366478.2022.30
     [Google Scholar]
  6. UygurG. SkinniderE. Understanding Barriers to Women’s Access to Justice and Legal Aid in Türkiye.Asia2022
     [Google Scholar]
  7. AndersonM.R. Changing Concepts of Rights and Justice in South Asia.DelhiOxford University Press2019
     [Google Scholar]
  8. MbathaL. The use of innovative qualitative methods to conduct legal research into, inter alia, marriage, access to resources and customary courts.South Africa2008
     [Google Scholar]
  9. SiederR. McNeishJ.A. Eds.; Gender justice and legal pluralities: Latin American and African perspectives.Routledge201310.4324/9780203084434
     [Google Scholar]
  10. StewartJ. AnneH. ShaheenS.A. TsangaA. Human Rights, Plural Legalities and Gendered Realities: Paths are made by Walking.Weaver Press2007
     [Google Scholar]
  11. KirstyM. Forthcoming K McLean Ten Years of Socio-Economic Rights Jurisprudence in South Africa: A Critical Review.Pretoria University Law Press2009
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD Skills Outlook, 2019: Thriving in a digital world.2019Available from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/oecd-skills-outlook-2019_df80bc12-en#:~:text=This%20edition%20of%20the%20OECD,among%20and%20within%20countries'%20populations
  13. PaclarinJ.V. Women’s Coalitions Launch 18 Days of Action to Stop Violence Against Women; Philippines2019
     [Google Scholar]
  14. EliotG. FullerM. WollstonecraftM. Margaret Fuller and Mary Wollstonecraft.George Eliot Archive2020
     [Google Scholar]
  15. DenvirC. KinghanJ. MantJ. NewmanD. Legal aid and the future of access to justice.Bloomsbury Academic202328810.5040/9781509957835
     [Google Scholar]
  16. HassimS. Women’s Organizations and Democracy in South Africa.Contesting Authority, University of Wisconsin Press2006
     [Google Scholar]
  17. MaguireS. Access to Justice for women and girls. . An assessment of women and girls’ access to justice across Sierra Leone, to inform the implementation phase of the ASJP a partnership between the governments of the United Kingdom and Sierra Leone, Sierra Leone.2012
     [Google Scholar]
  18. SalomeD. Women as daughters, mothers and wives face several challenges in their efforts to access justice in rural and urban areas due to a number of factors such as illiteracy and poverty. In: Ghana Judicial System Report; 2018
     [Google Scholar]
  19. AsareA.A. Truth without reconciliation: A human rights history of Ghana.USAUniversity of Pennsylvania Press201810.9783/9780812295276
     [Google Scholar]
  20. StevensJ. Access to justice in Sub-Sahara Africa.LondonPenal Reform International2019
     [Google Scholar]
  21. ChoudhryS. Women’s access to justice: A guide for legal practitioners.United KingdomEuropean Union2018
     [Google Scholar]
  22. GjecajE. LawsonA. TraustadóttirR. RiceJ.G. ‘We got lucky with the judge’: Access to justice for disabled women in iceland.Laws20231222110.3390/laws12020021
     [Google Scholar]
  23. ChumaH. Family and Succession Law' monograph in International Encyclopaedia of Laws Series (2002, revision 2008) Kluwer Law International) Family Law and Succession Law suppl. 2008
     [Google Scholar]
  24. DurojayeE. Mirugi-MukundiG. AdeniyiO. Legal empowerment as a tool for engendering access to justice in South Africa.Int. J. Discrim. Law202020422424410.1177/1358229120969602
     [Google Scholar]
  25. UbinkJ. Mnisi WeeksS. Courting custom: Regulating access to justice in rural South Africa and Malawi.Law Soc. Rev.201751482585810.1111/lasr.12298
     [Google Scholar]
  26. United Nation Development Programme Ghana. The poor are socially excluded from access to justice.2019Available from: http://www.publicprivatedialogue.org/.Ghanavoicefinal_06082007-p (Retrieved on 3rd June 2019).
     [Google Scholar]
  27. MelindaD. Legal Access through Women Yearning for Equality.Sierra LeoneRights and Social Justice2008
     [Google Scholar]
  28. Jones-PaulyC. The Role of Court Administrators and Lay Adjudicators in African and Islamic Contexts.New YorkKluwer Law international2002
     [Google Scholar]
  29. AzumahF.D. OnzaberiguN.J. AdongoA.A. Gender, agriculture and sustainable livelihood among rural farmers in northern Ghana.Econ. Change Restruct.2022123
     [Google Scholar]
  30. ZahanM. M. SinghM. Women’s access to justice: Understanding the barriers. PalArch's J. Archaeol. Egypt/Egyptol.,2020171211311140
  31. AdekunleC.O. Access to justice in Nigeria: An extrapolative appraisal of its socio-legal barriers.Jurist201420283307
     [Google Scholar]
  32. YasegnalA.S. Gender based violence against women: The crisis behind being a restaurant waitress.J. Crim. Psychol.2023131344610.1108/JCP‑04‑2022‑0013
     [Google Scholar]
  33. DenneyL. DomingoP. Taking people-centred justice to scale: The role of customary and informal justice in advancing people-centred justice.2023Available from: https://odi.org/en/publications/taking-people-centred-justice-to-scale-the-role-of-customary-and-informal-justice-in-advancing-people-centred-justice/
    [Google Scholar]
  34. FullerP. Masculinity, emotion and sexual violence.In: Gender Relations in Public and Private.LondonPalgrave Macmillan199610.1007/978‑1‑349‑24543‑7_12
     [Google Scholar]
  35. TongA.H.Y. EvangelistaM. ParsonsA.B. XuH. BaderG.D. PagéN. RobinsonM. RaghibizadehS. HogueC.W.V. BusseyH. AndrewsB. TyersM. BooneC. Systematic genetic analysis with ordered arrays of yeast deletion mutants.Science200129455502364236810.1126/science.1065810 11743205
     [Google Scholar]
  36. JenkinsA. PetherickW. Serial rape. In: Profiling and Serial Crime: Theoretical and Practical Issues, 3rd ed; Petherick, W., Ed.; Elsevier, 201331934010.1016/B978‑1‑4557‑3174‑9.00015‑X
     [Google Scholar]
  37. AakerD.A. DayG. Marketing Research.In: Consumer Evaluations of Brand Approaches.Thousand Oaks, CASage1990
     [Google Scholar]
  38. Starhawk, Truth or dare: Encounters with power, authority, and mystery; HarperCollins paperback: San Francisco, 1990
     [Google Scholar]
  39. NelsonT.O. Consciousness and metacognition.Am. Psychol.199651210211610.1037/0003‑066X.51.2.102
     [Google Scholar]
  40. JassalN. Gender, law enforcement, and access to justice: Evidence from all-women police stations in India.Am. Polit. Sci. Rev.202011441035105410.1017/S0003055420000684
     [Google Scholar]
  41. Purdie-VaughnsV. EibachR.P. Intersectional invisibility: The distinctive advantages and disadvantages of multiple subordinate-group identities.Sex Roles2008595-637739110.1007/s11199‑008‑9424‑4
     [Google Scholar]
  42. EaglyA.H. WoodW. The origins of sex differences in human behavior: Evolved dispositions versus social roles.Am. Psychol.199954640842310.1037/0003‑066X.54.6.408
     [Google Scholar]
  43. Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Ghana Health Service (GHS), and ICF International. Ghana Demographic and Health Survey.2015Available from: https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr307/fr307.pdf
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Statistical Service, & ORC Macro. Ghana demographic and health survey.2009Available from: https://www.dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR221/FR221%5B13Aug2012%5D.pdf
    [Google Scholar]
  45. YakubuN.A. Transformations in the chieftaincy institution in northern ghana from 1900-1969: A case study of navrongo and sakot.. Doctoral thesis, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology., 2009
     [Google Scholar]
  46. BinkaE. Navrongo health research centre (NHRC) located in central Navrongo.J. Public Health200064134257
     [Google Scholar]
  47. WedjongP. History of Navrongo.1994Available from: http://www.zerizon.net/vze827ph/history.htm (Retrieved on 14th June, 2019).
     [Google Scholar]
  48. RichardsC. BoumanW.P. BarkerM. Non-binary genders.LondonPalgrave Macmillan2017
     [Google Scholar]
  49. ColaizziP. Psychological research as the phenomenologist views it. In: Existential-Phenomenological Alternatives for Psychology. ValeR.S. KingM. New York, NYOxford University Press1978
     [Google Scholar]
  50. GiorgiA. Difficulties encountered in the application of the phenomenological method in the social sciences.Indo-Pac. J. Phenomenol.2008811910.1080/20797222.2008.11433956
     [Google Scholar]
  51. MorseJ. Designing funded qualitative research. In: Handbook for Qualitative Research. DenzinN. LincolnY. Thousand Oaks, CASage1994220235
     [Google Scholar]
  52. CreswellJ. Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Traditions.Thousand Oaks, CASage1998
     [Google Scholar]
  53. MorseJ.M. BarrettM. MayanM. OlsonK. SpiersJ. Verification strategies for establishing reliability and validly in qualitative research. Int. J. Qual. Methods200212132210.1177/160940690200100202
     [Google Scholar]
  54. TodresL. Clarifying the life-world: Descriptive phenomenology. In: Qualitative Research in Health Care. HollowayI. BuckinghamshireOpen University Press2005104124
     [Google Scholar]
  55. CreswellJ.W. Five qualitative approaches to inquiry.In: Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches.Google Books2007
     [Google Scholar]
  56. PattonM.Q. Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice.Sage publications2014
     [Google Scholar]
  57. RichardsonS.K. GraingerP.C. ArdaghM.W. MorrisonR. Violence and aggression in the emergency department is under-reported and under-appreciated.N. Z. Med. J.201813114765058 29879726
     [Google Scholar]
  58. CreswellJ.W. MillerD.L. Determining validity in qualitative inquiry.Theory Pract.200039312413010.1207/s15430421tip3903_2
     [Google Scholar]
  59. SandersP. Phenomenology: A new way of viewing organizational research.Acad. Manage. Rev.19827335336010.2307/257327
     [Google Scholar]
  60. MoustakasC. Phenomenological Research Methods.Thousand Oaks, CA, USASage199410.4135/9781412995658
     [Google Scholar]
  61. SandersC. Application of Colaizzi’s method: Interpretation of an auditable decision trail by a novice researcher.Contemp. Nurse200314329230210.5172/conu.14.3.292 12868668
     [Google Scholar]
  62. ShoshaG.A. Employment of Colaizzi’s strategy in descriptive phenomenology: A reflection of a researcher.Eur. Sci. J.20128273143
     [Google Scholar]
  63. MorrowR. RodriguezA. KingN. Colaizzi’s descriptive phenomenological method.Psychologist2015288643644
     [Google Scholar]
  64. BeckC.T. Introduction to phenomenology: Focus on methodology.Sage Publications2019
     [Google Scholar]
  65. LincolnY.S. GubaE.G. Naturalistic Inquiry.Sage Publications198510.1016/0147‑1767(85)90062‑8
     [Google Scholar]
  66. BarakatS. The Cost of Justice: Exploratory assessment on women's access to justice in Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Yemen.2018Available from: https://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/cost-justice-exploratory-assessment-women-s-access-justice-lebanon-jordan-egypt-and
  67. ErlangerH.S. ChamblissE. MelliM.S. Participation and flexibility in informal processes: Cautions from the divorce context.Law Soc. Rev.198721458560410.2307/3053597
     [Google Scholar]
  68. MaritsD. YasharovaM. YehorovaV. BoiarchukO. PriamitsynV. Justice in ukraine: Issues of accessibility, equality and countering discrimination.Lex Humana2023154268288
     [Google Scholar]
  69. Fisher PageD. FarrellB.R. One crisis or two problems? Disentangling rural access to justice and the rural attorney shortage.2023Available from: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4475009
    [Google Scholar]
  70. WalkerM. RawsonC. Forming lawyers who can contribute to equitable access to justice in South Africa.Int. J. Clin. Legal Educ.20233029713710.19164/ijcle.v30i2.1318
     [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/css/10.2174/012772316X277583231229091308
Loading
Gender and Access to Justice in the Informal Court System in Ghana: A Descriptive Phenomenology in a Patriarchal Society
Curr. Social Sci. 1, E250124226275 (2023); https://doi.org/10.2174/012772316X277583231229091308
/content/journals/css/10.2174/012772316X277583231229091308
/content/journals/css/10.2174/012772316X277583231229091308
Loading

Data & Media loading...


  • Article Type:     Research Article
Keyword(s): cultural norms; Gender; informal court; local court case; patriarchal society; women and access to justice
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error
Please enter a valid_number test