Esther Tawiah

Esther Tawiah is a woman human rights defender, focused on improving the lives of women by increasing their involvement in decision-making and working towards gender equality. She is the founder and Executive Director of the Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED) in Ghana – a non-governmental organisation empowering women and youth for sustainable development through advocacy, training, and research. Over the last ten years, Esther has worked to widen civic spaces, increase the political representation of women, and combat gender-based violence in Ghana and Africa at large.

Esther also began the West Africa Young Women Political Leadership School, an initiative that won the organisation the Award on Women Political Rights Award in Africa during the celebration of the Maputo Protocol at 20 events in Kenya. Her work as a WHRD also led her to run the Ubuntu Hub City initiative under AfricanDefenders to defend and protect Women/Human Rights Defenders from authoritarian and oppressive governments. Over 40 Human Rights Defenders from West and Central Africa countries have benefited from this initiative.