PROPERTY RELATIONS AND WOMEN’S ACCESS TO COURTS AMONG THE ANLO AND THE ASANTE IN GHANA

The main objective of the study was to find out which courts women access in view of their unfavourable experiences of traditional institutions on property inheritance. The other reason for the study was to discover whether indigenous courts really play a significant role in the settlement of cases among the Anlo and Asante to ease congestion of disputes in the formal courts.The study used a strategic sampling procedure and a qualitative approach. Women in Anloga and Kumasi were interviewed. Records of both indigenous and the formal courts proceedings on property related cases were also studied. The field data were supplemented by secondary data and observation. All were triangulated. The findings are that contrary to expectation, the inequality in property relations engendered by the family laws and socio-cultural practices did not affect women’s access to the formal and indigenous courts in the studied communities. Women’s reluctance to assert rights is, in fact, mainly because they often are confronted by significant social pressure from their families and communities not to seek formal legal recourse; and instead to resolve the cases outside the court, domestically