Dorcas Ama Frema Coker-Appiah (born 17 August 1946) is a Ghanaian lawyer, 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 (; or ''Gaga''; ; Ewe: Gɛ; ) 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, , had a population of ...

, 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

Coker-Appiah was born on 17 August 1946 in

Wenchi Wenchi is a town and the capital of Wenchi Municipal of the Bono Region in the middle-belt of Ghana. Wenchi is located at 7.73333 atitude in decimal degrees -2.1 ongitude in decimal degreesat an average elevation/altitude of 304 meters. ...

, in the British colony of the Gold Coast (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 is the oldest public university in the country. The university was founded in 1948 as the University College of the Gold Coast in the British colony of the Gold Coast ...

Career

In 1974, Coker-Appiah was a founding member of

FIDA ''Fida'' (translation: ''Infatuated'') is a 2004 Indian Hindi-language romantic action thriller film directed by Ken Ghosh, starring Fardeen Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Akhilendra Mishra. The film was released on 20 August 2004. ...

Ghana, its vice president from 1988 to 1989, and president from 1990 to 1991. She was 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 Women in Law & Development in Africa (WiLDAF) is a Pan-African women's rights organization and network which is non-profit and non-government (NGO) and contains 500 organizations, 1200 individuals and spreads over 27 countries. Even though WiLDAF ...

(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, ) * "Evaluation of the rural response system intervention to prevent violence against women: findings from a community-randomised controlled trial in the Central Region of Ghana" (DOI: 10.1080/16549716.2019.1711336) * "Patriarchy and gender-inequitable attitudes as drivers of intimate partner violence against women in the central region of Ghana" (DOI: 10.1186/s12889-020-08825-z)

References

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