Dorcas Ama Frema Coker-Appiah (born 17 August 1946) is a

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

ian lawyer and women's rights activist, and the executive director of the

Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre The Gender Studies and Human Rights Documentation Centre (Gender Centre) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that strives to address the issues of gender inequality in Ghana. Based in Accra, Ghana, the Gender Centre has conducted studi ...

, also known as the "Gender Centre", in

Accra Accra (; tw, Nkran; dag, Ankara; gaa, Ga or ''Gaga'') is the capital and largest city of Ghana, located on the southern coast at the Gulf of Guinea, which is part of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2021 census, the Accra Metropolitan District, , ...

, Ghana. She has had (and continues to have) important roles in several organisations promoting women's rights at national, regional and international levels.

Early life

Dorcas Ama Frema Coker-Appiah was born on 17 August 1946 in Wenchi, in the British colony of the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

(now Ghana). In 1970, Coker-Appiah earned a bachelor's degree in law from the

University of Ghana The University of Ghana is a public university located in Accra, Ghana. It the oldest and largest of the thirteen Ghanaian national public universities. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the Br ...

Career

In 1974, Coker-Appiah was a founding member of FIDA Ghana, and served as vice president from 1988 to 1989, followed by president from 1990 to 1991. She has served as the president of FIDA's legal aid steering committee, and the project coordinator of the legal, literacy and publication committee for some years. Coker-Appiah is the executive director of the

. Coker-Appiah is a member of Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF), a Pan-African network of organizations and individuals with members in twenty-six African countries, and a founding member of WiLDAF Ghana and the chairperson of its African regional board. In September 2017, she led a workshop for a group of "leading African feminists" at the South African organisation Masimanyane Women's Rights International, together with Dr

Hilda Tadria Hilda M. Tadria is a Ugandan women's rights activist, a gender and social development specialist, and the executive director of the Mentoring and Empowerment Programme for Young Women in Uganda (MEMPROW). She has advised NGOs worldwide on gender, ...

, the executive director of the Mentoring and Empowerment Programme for Young Women in Uganda, and provided a "powerful workshop unpacking the patriarchy system".

Publications

* ''Breaking the Silence & Challenging the Myths of Violence Against Women and Children in Ghana: Report of a National Study on Violence'' (Gender Studies & Human Rights Documentation Centre, 1999, )

References

Living people Ghanaian women lawyers People from Brong-Ahafo Region 1946 births University of Ghana alumni Ghanaian feminists 20th-century Ghanaian lawyers 21st-century Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian lawyers Ghanaian activists {{Ghana-law-bio-stub