Patricia Blankson Akakpo

Country: Ghana

Current Organization: Network of Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT)

Organization at the time you received Katie Fleming Award from Coady: Network of Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT)

How did receiving the Katie Fleming award inspire you?

The award inspired me not to relent in my efforts to seek and push for socio-economic and gender justice to protect the interest and rights of women and girls, especially at the community level. The award and Katie’s example gave me hope to continue my passion for promoting and protecting the rights and interest of women and children through the promotion of their rights for secured livelihoods.

What does your organization do, how does it help develop your community?

NETRIGHT works with women’s organizations, groups, and individuals to bring a gender perspective into national processes and advocate for policy change to strengthen women’s human rights. NETRIGHT campaigns for attitudinal and policy changes to achieve women’s equal rights and draws attention to violations of women’s rights. We also create spaces for debate, discussion, and clearer articulation of different positions within the Ghana women’s movement on women’s rights issues, as well as other national issues. To ensure inclusiveness, NETRIGHT provides a national advocacy platform around national and international processes and educates the public about gender equality and women’s rights issues. At the community level, NETRIGHT works with women and their groups to effect change through facilitating and providing entry points for rural women to be their own voice to hold duty-bearers accountable and demand greater gender responsiveness from state and non-state actors. Our work at the community level informs our advocacy interventions at the national level – we work to bring women’s voices to national policy spaces.

What are your goals/vision for the future?

I want to lead my own organization. One that will work solely with deprived communities and groups on gender and socio-economic justice issues as well as supporting deprived women and their groups to have increased voice and mobilize for collective action. The Katherine Fleming award gave me the opportunity to reassess and improve my abilities to be of a better service to humanity. My ultimate goal is to work to ensure the realization and enjoyment of the fundamental human rights of women and girls.