Adoa News Adoa News
President John Dramani Mahama has stressed that reparatory justice for the transatlantic slave trade cannot be fully achieved without acknowledging the unique suffering endured by enslaved women and girls.
Speaking at the Heads of State Session of the Next Steps High-Level Consultative Conference in Accra on Thursday, June 18, 2026, President Mahama said women experienced forms of exploitation that extended beyond forced labour, and that any meaningful reparations process must reflect their experiences through truth-telling, memorialisation, and redress.
“Any framework for truth-telling, memorialisation, reparatory justice, or historical reckoning that fails to recognise the specific experience of women will remain incomplete,” he stated.
The President noted that while millions of African men, women and children were subjected to violence and indignity during the transatlantic slave trade, women and girls faced additional forms of abuse that have often been overlooked in historical narratives.
He explained that the exploitation of enslaved women went beyond labour, with their bodies and reproductive capacity being used to sustain slavery across generations.
President Mahama paid tribute to women who resisted oppression during and after slavery, highlighting the contributions of Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth. He also honoured the countless unnamed women whose courage and resilience helped preserve families, communities and hope in the face of extreme hardship.
According to him, women continue to play a critical role in advancing the global reparations agenda, particularly as scholars, activists, jurists and policymakers.
The President said Ghana’s advocacy for reparatory justice had gained international recognition following the adoption of a United Nations General Assembly resolution championed by the country. The resolution acknowledged the scale, brutality and enduring consequences of the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement.
Looking ahead, President Mahama said the next phase of the reparations movement should focus on practical measures, including research, education, memorialisation, restitution and stronger partnerships between Africa, the African diaspora and the international community.
He emphasised that the pursuit of reparatory justice is not about assigning personal blame for historical wrongs, but rather addressing their enduring impact on present-day societies.
“History does not ask us to inherit guilt, but it asks us to inherit responsibility,” he said.
President Mahama added that the success of the current generation would ultimately be measured not by the resolutions it adopts, but by its ability to translate recognition of historical injustices into meaningful and lasting action.