In October 2008, an event to commemorate the 90th anniversary of her birth was held in Dublin. Below, we reproduce the piece written to mark that occasion.
Celebrating the Life and Memory of a Remarkable African Woman
Yet, the late
Justice Annie Jiagge,
Ghana’s first
woman High Court judge,
was instrumental in the UN’s first document on Women’s
Rights, the Draft
Declaration on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, also referred to as CEDAW, which she co-authored and which was first adopted on 7 November,
1967, by the General Assembly.
Born on the 7th of October, 1918, the late Justice Annie Ruth Jiagge (née Baeta) entered the legal profession after a career in education. She was appointed to the High Court on the 15th of September, 1961. Indeed, she was the first ever woman High Court judge appointed in the (British) Commonwealth.
Justice Annie
Jiagge’s legal career progressed with her appointment to the Court
of Appeal in 1969,
becoming its president in 1980, a position she held until her
retirement in 1983.
On the
international scene, Justice Jiagge served on the UN’s
Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and chairing it in 1968. She was a member of Dr Boutros-Boutros
Ghali’s advisory group appointed to plan the Fourth
World Conference on Women.
She was a
member of the World
Council of Churches (WCC),
which she served for over 44 years, becoming the first African woman
President
when she was elected by the 5th assembly at Nairobi in 1975. She was
elected Moderator
(Chair) of its
Commission on the
Programme to Combat Racism.
Justice Jiagge was instrumental in shaping the WCC’s tough attitude
against the injustice of apartheid in South Africa.
Justice Annie
Jiagge was a founding member of the Women’s
World Banking, an
organisation aimed at granting women access to credit and which her
fellow Ghanaian, the late Dr
Esther Ocloo, was the
first chair.
While a
student in London, Annie Baeta had participated in the activities of
the Young Women’s
Christian Association
(YWCA). She was made a Member
of the Executive Committee of the World YWCA
soon after joining it, and eventually Vice-President.
In her own country in Ghana, she found time outside her legal career
and was instrumental in founding the National
Women’s Council and
the YWCA.
Annie
Jiagge also kept her
interest in education. She served on the Council of the University of
Ghana at Legon for twelve years and was a member of the
Administrative and Management Committee of the Ghana Academy of
Sciences.
The
late Justice Annie
Jiagge was only one of
the many African women who have made their contributions in their own
countries, as well as in the international domain.
Dr.
Asha-Rose Migiro,
who was appointed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations in
January, 2006, is the first woman Minister for Foreign Affairs and
International Co-operation of the Republic of Tanzania.
Judge Akua
Kuenyehia from Ghana
is currently the First Vice-President, International Criminal Court
in The Hague, while Former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, who was
in Ireland earlier this year [2008], is now the Managing Director of the
World Bank.
As we
mark the 30th anniversary next year [2009] of the final adoption of CEDAW at
the 34th Session of the General Assembly, perhaps highlighting the
achievements and strengths of African women on the 90th
anniversary of the
late Justice Annie
Jiagge’s birth would
be appropriate?
It is also important that we continue to identify, acknowledge and celebrate other African
women achievers by bringing their stories to the rest of the world.
Justice Mrs
Annie Ruth Jiagge died
on the 12th of June,
1996.
