Esther Tawiah is a Ghanaian woman human rights defender (WHRD) and passionate advocate for gender equality, governance, and women’s political participation. Over the years, she has dedicated her work to amplifying women’s voices, strengthening democratic accountability, and ensuring that women take their rightful place in leadership across Africa. As the Coordinator of the Ubuntu Hub City in Accra under AfricanDefenders, Esther plays a vital role in protecting and supporting human rights defenders at risk, offering them safety, solidarity, and hope.
“Lives have been saved. Lives and families have been saved. I remember one defender who came to us crying, a man crying, because he and his family had been rescued. He said, ‘I don’t know what would have happened to us. Others who couldn’t get the opportunity are dead.’ Some walked through the bushes for days, others needed medical attention but had no help. When you call DefendDefenders, they respond. That gives this work a human face. It’s not about statistics; it’s about people who want good for their countries.
What touches me most is that families are not left behind. It’s not only about the HRDs on the frontlines; spouses and children are protected, too. Some have been evacuated together, supported, and even helped to continue their education. The human face is seen. Honestly, I don’t know what we would have done without DefendDefenders and AfricanDefenders on the continent.” — Esther Tawiah, Ubuntu Hub City Coordinator, Accra
Born and raised in Ghana’s Eastern Region, Esther grew up in a household of girls. Unlike the quiet, soft-spoken demeanour expected of women in her community, she always found herself speaking up for others and challenging norms.
From an early age, Esther stood out for her boldness. In secondary school, she often defended classmates against unfair treatment from teachers. “I used to stand up for my friends and tell the teacher, you can’t do this to a student,” she says. “So, they’d always say, ask for Esther, she’ll speak up.” Her assertiveness followed her to university, where she became active in political discussions and student movements, attending nearly every rally and campus forum.
It was during these years that Esther became acutely aware of the gender inequalities around her. When prominent political figures visited campuses, she noticed that female students were often objectified rather than engaged intellectually. “When the big people came to campus, they would ask for the beautiful girls to attend the event, not to learn, but to entertain them,” she recalls. “They didn’t respect us. The objectification was high, and I knew it was wrong. We needed to challenge it.”
Those experiences, combined with her instinct to defend others, deepened her conviction that women needed stronger representation and platforms to speak for themselves. “I realised it’s different to be outside and be screaming, you have to find a way to be outside and also inside,” she explains. That realisation led her to establish the Gender Centre for Empowering Development (GenCED), an organisation created to amplify women’s voices, influence policy, and bring legitimacy to her advocacy.
Her fearlessness gained national attention in 2019, when she publicly challenged President Nana Akufo-Addo after his controversial remarks at the Women Deliver Conference in Vancouver. The President had implied that Ghanaian women were not dynamic enough to take up leadership roles, comments that sparked outrage among feminists and activists across the country. Esther was one of the first to respond publicly. “I stood up to the President and said, Mr. President, remember it was women that helped you win your presidency. It was young women who campaigned for you,” she recounts.
The backlash was swift. She and her family faced insults and threats, but Esther refused to be silenced. “They attacked me, insulted me, even my family, but that told me I was doing something right,” she says. The experience solidified her belief in the power of women’s voices and strengthened her resolve to continue challenging systems that exclude or undermine women.
Through GenCED, Esther channelled that conviction into structured advocacy, building partnerships with government institutions, civil society, and international agencies to advance gender equality and good governance. Under her leadership, GenCED is one of Ghana’s leading voices on women’s political participation, gender-based violence, and governance accountability. The organisation produced the first-ever civil society scorecard on the Maputo Protocol, assessing its implementation across Africa. “We wanted to move beyond promises and see if governments were actually living up to what they signed,” she explains.
Her commitment also extends to nurturing the next generation of women leaders. Through the West Africa Young Women in Politics Forum, GenCED trains and mentors young women to actively participate in politics, challenge patriarchal systems, and lead with confidence. “When I see young women, we trained now sitting in parliament, I know the work has meaning,” she says proudly.
Her work has earned national and international recognition, including an award for promoting women’s political rights in Africa. Yet for Esther, the true measure of success lies in impact, not accolades. “Being recognised means people are watching, and it tells me we are doing something right,” she reflects. “But the real victory is seeing women’s voices grow stronger, in politics, in communities, and in their own lives.”
Beyond her national influence, Esther has extended her impact across Africa through her work with AfricanDefenders and the Ubuntu Hub Cities Initiative, a relocation and protection programme for HRDs at risk. As the AccraHub City Coordinator, she supports defenders facing persecution, helping them find safety, rebuild their lives, and continue their activism.
Her involvement with AfricanDefenders was a natural progression of her own experience as a WHRD who once faced threats for speaking truth to power. “There was a time I was alone, fighting a system by myself,” she recalls. “So, when the Hub Cities work came into our portfolio, I knew this was something I wanted to do. We must stand in solidarity with each other, because we understand our struggles more than anyone else.”
Through her work, she has helped shape a network of care grounded in compassion and solidarity. “You have to learn detached compassion,” she says. “Some defenders come to you broken. If you’re not careful, you’ll break down with them. You must care deeply but also stay strong for them.”
For Esther, protecting HRDs is both a professional mission and a personal calling, one that embodies her lifelong drive to stand up for others. “Who watches over the watchman?” she asks. “That’s what we do through the Hub Cities, we make sure those who protect others are also protected.”
Her guiding philosophy remains simple yet profound: protect one, empower a thousand. “When you protect a woman who speaks out, you protect the millions she represents,” Esther says. “Our work is about dignity, resilience, and the belief that no HRD should have to face danger alone.”