Woman Power – Here’s All The You Need To Know About The Woman On The New GH₵10 Note

Born Annie Ruth Baëta on 7 October 1918 in Lomé, in what is now Togo, she grew up in Keta, Ghana. She attended Achimota College and obtained a teacher’s certificate in 1937. She worked as a teacher and later became a headmistress before deciding to pursue a career in law, a bold decision for a woman of her generation.

Her journey into the legal profession was not an ordinary one. She travelled to Britain to study law at the London School of Economics, earning her Bachelor of Laws degree in 1949. In 1950, she was called to the Bar at Lincoln’s Inn, becoming Ghana’s first female lawyer. That achievement alone would have secured her place in history, but she went much further.

But Justice Jiagge’s influence went far beyond the courtroom. She was also a powerful voice for women’s rights around the world. Between 1962 and 1972, she represented Ghana on the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and served as its president in 1968.

She played a major role in drafting the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, adopted in 1967. This declaration became an important foundation for later international efforts to protect women’s rights, including the convention that followed it.

At home, she contributed to national development through her involvement in Ghana’s constitutional processes, including the work that led to the 1979 and 1992 Constitutions. She also served on Ghana’s Council of State from 1993 until her death.

Justice Jiagge received several honours for her contribution to Ghana and the world, including the Grand Medal and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Ghana. She passed away in Accra on 12 June 1996, aged 77.

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