A note on gender in Ghana

During our second, but essentially first week of classes (Professors don't show up for the real first week), I have been particularly attuned to gender issues and relations on campus between students, and also off campus within Accra. To those of you who know me well this should come as no surprise. Part of this attention stems from a few of my classes here in the Social Work department which I am taking in pursuit of a Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies Minor back at AU.

My Monday started off with the Social Work course called Family Welfare. Because the professor didn't show up the first week,  he just went over a basic course outline during this lecture. While we didn't cover much, some of the students' reactions to what was covered were interesting. For example, the professor said we would be covering relationships between spouses in Ghanaian marriages and families. Specifically the belief and tradition of the male as the head of the household. He said that many Ghanaian men are viewed or view themselves as weak if they consult their wives at all while making family decisions. At this comment, the males in the classroom cheered. It took all that I had not to turn around and glare at them all. A girl beside from Denmark looked at me and said "This is going to be difficult."

Later on that evening in a sociology course I am auditing called Culture and Reproductive Health, the lecturer was discussing methods of population control used by various countries. We got onto the topic of birth control and womens' health in general. The lecturer is a very strong-willed Ghanaian women who doesn't let the men rule the classroom, which is what seems to typically happen  in the classes I've attended so far. We were discussing the birth control pill Depo Provera, which did a lot of damage to Ghanaian women in the '60s and '70s thanks to a US scientist who didn't quite have all of his data straight, yet decided it was ok to release the drug to third world countries for a test run. This discussion led to a discussion about a woman's right to her own body, and to making her own health care decisions. At this point, a lovely young gentleman raised his hand and asked "Well, what if the woman can't make her own health care decisions." A bunch of boys in the class made sounds of agreement, and the teacher asked if he meant that she was physically or mentally unable to, because of a medical condition, or because her husband thought she wasn't able to make decisions for herself without him. It was established that the boy meant the latter, which prompted the teacher to ask him how he would feel about someone of another gender making decisions about his body and well being. He had no response. On a separate occasion in that same class, a friend in my program told me that she raised her hand and countered an ignorant male, and the female portion of the class cheered for her and nodded their heads, yet it seemed none of them felt comfortable enough to counter the males themselves.

Later on in the week Jake and my roommate and I went to visit a friend in the hospital who had malaria. When we were in the taxi on the way back we were stuck in traffic and were in the lane closest to the side of the road. In Accra, there are people that come around to cars when they are stopped at red lights and stuck in traffic, to try to sell them things. I was looking out the window at some of these people and noticed a heated argument happening between a man and a woman along the side of the road. I knew the woman was selling things to passers by because she was carrying a large basket on her head, as most of the women here who sell things do. The argument escalated and the man started to whip her across the face with a small rag he was holding in his hand. The woman motioned like she was going to fight back, so the man advanced at her with his fist and she instantly cowered away. It was one of the most awful things I've witnessed since I've been here. The woman put  her basket back on her head and walked out to the cars to continue selling her goods. The man resumed talking with  another man and I continued to glare at them. The other man who had not been beating the woman noticed I was staring and started to point at me. Then both men started pointing and laughing at me. They both knew I had witnessed what had just happened, and could do nothing about it. I glared at them until traffic moved and we drove away.

I can't say that I'm looking forward to what is to come as far as my observations go on this topic, but it will be a learning experience. I know that Ghana has domestic violence laws, as does the US, but it takes more than laws to empower women to stand up for themselves. Interestingly enough it is the Christian tradition that has made Ghanaian society so male-centric. Before Christianity became heavily popular here, the Uncles, or brothers of women were closer to being father figures to children than the children's actual fathers. There were often multiple men in charge rather than just one holding all the power. When Christianity became popular, the society switched to a more western family structure with the father as the head of household.

I am currently looking into a volunteer opportunity which involves looking after the children of young and teen mothers so that they can be educated. Hopefully this will allow me the opportunity to give back to the women of this country and help them to not be the victims of cruel treatment and male dominance.