Sheila Minkah-Premo: A Career and Legacy of Championing Women and Girls’ Rights.

WHEN WOMEN IN LAW LEAD

Perspectives. Positionalities. Politics

When Women in Law Lead is a blog series using storytelling and legal narratives to showcase how African women in law and leadership are transforming legal institutions and contributing to justice, the rule of law, and women’s empowerment. In a round of engaging questions, we delve deeper into the perspectives, positionalities and politics of women’s leadership in law.

In this episode, we profile Sheila Minkah-Premo, Senior Managing Partner of Apex Law Consult, a private law firm in Accra, Ghana. Sheila has practiced as a lawyer for over 35 years and has over time gained recognition not only as an expert in Dispute Resolution and Corporate Practice, but also a champion of women and girls’ rights. In the early years of Sheila’s career, and in true dedication to her lifelong passion for advocating and pushing the barrier for the rights of women and girls, Sheila volunteered significantly at Ghana’s Legal Aid Commission, specifically by providing legal assistance to women in need. Sheila also worked for years as a volunteer for the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-GHANA), a non-profit nonpartisan organization committed to addressing discriminatory practices and promoting and protecting the rights of women and children in Ghana. Following Sheila’s dedication and impact as a volunteer at FIDA-GHANA, she was recommended (still in the very early years of her career) by the former to undertake a Public Policy Fellowship Program on gender-related issues at the Georgetown University Law Centre. 

Upon her return to Ghana, she was nominated as the Chairperson of the Women and Minors’ Rights Committee of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), a committee that was tasked with conducting legal outreach programs for women across the country. Under her leadership as Chairperson, Sheila reported and advocated on issues affecting women at the Bar, and also pushed for the inclusion of Family-Law-related topics in the GBA’s Continuing Professional Development program. Her ardent advocacy led to the amendment of the Constitution of the GBA to include a Women’s Forum - a sub-group of the GBA where problems affecting female lawyers in Ghana will be explored, addressed and resolved more effectively. Naturally, Sheila became the first President of the Women’s Forum of the GBA when the forum came fully into being. As a private legal practitioner, Sheila continues to champion Affirmative Action and legislative and policy reform in Ghana, and internationally across the African continent. We reached out to Sheila to share with us a few insights from her journey as a pioneer and champion in Women’s Rights in Ghana and beyond, and here’s what she shared with us:

IAWL: Briefly, please tell us who Sheila Minkah-Premo is and what inspires her.

SHEILA: I am a lawyer, human rights advocate and development practitioner who is passionate about the rights of women and the girl-child. I have always been driven by the desire to improve the rights of women and girls through legislative reform and advocacy, as well as pursuing justice for them. Since becoming a lawyer 36 years ago and being introduced into the world of the rights of women, I have participated in initiatives to advocate for the rights of women and children at the national level in Ghana, and at the level of the African Union. At the international level, I attended the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing China in 1995, and have since worked at pushing for the implementation of the 12 Critical Areas of Concern to women in the Platform for Action. 

IAWL:How long have you been serving as President of the Women’s Forum of the GBA and what motivated you to run for office?

SHEILA: I pushed for the formation of the Women's Forum of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) from 2014 until it was formalized in the GBA Constitution in 2022. I was elected as the first President of the GBA Women's Forum in 2022 and served for two years and was re-elected for another term.

IAWL: How would you rate the success of the Women’s Forum before and after you took over the reins of leadership?

SHEILA: As the leader of this new sub-group within the GBA, I have been instrumental in putting structures in place for the running of the GBA. I have also initiated networking opportunities in Ghana and outside Ghana, and members of the Women’s Forum (myself included) have benefited in learning from similar organizations within Bar Associations in other jurisdictions.

IAWL: What would you classify as your topmost contribution as a leader, to the GBA and the country?

SHEILA: Pushing for the setting up of the Women's Forum was a difficult task since some members of the GBA did not see the reason why it was needed. We have started to sensitize women on issues affecting them as lawyers including sexual harassment in the workplace and pregnancy related discrimination. We have created space for women lawyers to report abuse. We have initiated activities with networks like the Institute of African Women in Law (IAWL) and undertaken projects with them including the launch of their Gender Equality in Law Campaign. We also have a mentoring program with the Women's Division of the National Bar Association of the USA. We have also created space for the hosting of Continuing Legal  Education [CLE] sessions at the annual GBA Conference.

IAWL: What have been/were your other contributions as a leader of the Forum?

SHEILA: I have led national legislative advocacy programs, the last of which is the push for the passage of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equality) Act, 2024 (Act 1121) which aims to progressively increase the number of women in leadership in Ghana. I served as the Convener for the Affirmative Action Bill which successfully led this initiative. Other laws and policies that I have contributed in pushing for include the Domestic Violence Act, 2007 (Act 732).

IAWL: From your experience as a woman leader, what difference does having a woman at the topmost position in the Women’s Forum [and other organizations/ bodies] make?

Having a woman at the topmost position in any organisation offers us an opportunity to push for laws that will improve the lives and practice of women lawyers in the country.

IAWL: You played a significant role in the passing of the Affirmative Action Bill into law, briefly tell us what contributions you made to ensure that this Bill was passed into law.

SHEILA: I started out as a member of the 21-member technical committee set up by the then Ministry of Women and Children Affairs in 2011 to advise on the drafting of the Bill. In 2019, I facilitated the setting up and became the convener of the Affirmative Action Bill Coalition (the Coalition) that led the initiative of Civil Society to push for the passage of the Bill into law. I helped to mobilize civil society organizations to raise awareness for the need for the law, and I helped to raise funds and facilitated meetings with the government on the Bill. I also helped prepare a Memorandum of the Bill for Parliament. In addition to all these, I led the Coalition in working closely with the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, and with Parliament in winnowing the Bill to facilitate its passage, all while providing technical support to ensure the passage of the Bill into law.

IAWL: What were the challenges you faced along the way as you advocated for the Bill to be passed?

SHEILA: Some of the challenges I faced were lack of funds, lack of commitment by stakeholders, long delays and frequent changes in Ministers responsible for Gender.

IAWL: From your experience as a leader of the GBA Women’s Forum, what are the main contributors to the success of a woman leader in the legal domain in Ghana?

SHEILA: A woman leader needs to be tenacious since the legal profession is male-dominated. She also needs to rally the support of women in particular, and men as well, in pushing for change. She needs to be gender sensitive and strategic.

IAWL: From your experience what would you say are the major challenges for a woman leader in the Ghanaian legal domain?

SHEILA: Cultural attitudes about the headship of men, and notions of women's subordinate position. Women leaders attract a lot of criticism, and so we have to be more resilient.

IAWL: From these challenges you have encountered as a woman leader, what would be your advice/recommendation(s) to other women ascending to leadership positions in Law?

SHEILA: Knowledge about gender sensitivity, confidence, efficiency, resilience and a circle of like-minded persons.