Miami University reached out across the Atlantic Wednesday with the fourth annual Human Rights and Social Justice Day's keynote speaker, Anna Bossman, the acting chairperson for the Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice (CHRAJ) in Ghana.
Bossman has served on the commission since 2002. She has also worked as an assistant state attorney in the criminal division of the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General's Department in Ghana. She is the last speaker in a series of lectures the black world studies program has featured this year in recognition of Ghana's 50th year of independence from colonial rule.
Other events held during the day included an information fair, a proclamation from Oxford Vice Mayor Prue Dana and a film festival in the Shriver Multipurpose Rooms.
Bossman's lecture addressed the current state of affairs in Ghana, specifically how far the country has developed since it became a free nation 50 years ago.
"Turning 50 for anyone, whether it's a person or a country, is synonymous with coming of age," she said. "We've come a long way."
Since it received its freedom, Ghana has become a democratic nation and will be holding elections next year. It has its own constitution, ratified in 1996, replacing the 1992 original.
Bossman spoke on how the Ghanaian economy hit terrible lows, prompting people to flee the country. She feared that the nation might never recover, but it started to turn around in the '80s as the democratic process furthered itself, resulting in a great deal of international attention for the small nation.
"Poverty has declined from 52 percent in 1992 to 28 percent in 2006," she said. "It's showing that things can, indeed, be done right in Africa."
Health care is a major issue for many Ghanaians, Bossman said. She said there are not enough nurses and doctors for patients, many citizens have to walk long distances to reach health access and only 60 percent of patients can afford the necessary medications.
During the following question and answer session, Bossman spoke on how being a woman affects her ability to make an impact. While the culture is slowly changing, she said she still often faces prejudices based on traditional gender roles.
"Unfortunately, we are still in a male-dominated world," she said. "When (women) go out and you are in a position of authority it's like it's a threat to men."
She was also asked how she was able to measure the success of human rights movements in Ghana. As an example, Bossman said that in 2000, her organization managed to free 2,000 slaves at a shrine in Ghana. She explained that as youths, the girls had been given to the shrine in efforts to repay debts or appease a god. Bossman said many were fully grown and had spent their entire lives at the shrine and were unwilling to leave. Still, negotiations for their release were successful.
Sophomore Adairia Kelly said that she initially attended the lecture for a class assignment, but came away pleased that she had attended.
"It got really interesting-a lot of what she said was an eye-opener," she said. "My perspective of Ghana (coming in) was that all the people there were poor and living in poverty, but she gave me a better perspective now."
Bossman's visit was co-sponsored by the black world studies program and the Center for American and World Cultures.
