Ghanaian women @ 50

In pre-colonial time Ghanaian women were primarily responsible for child bearing, cooking, washing, and collecting fuel wood and water. Their ability to give birth was considered a means by which the ancestry was allowed to be reborn. Any woman who bore a male child specifically was respected. Polygamy was encouraged especially as a means to produce additional labour on farms. Women in the rural areas of Ghana gave birth to high number of children while urban literate had fewer children. When women began to gain education, their child bearing ability declined as they combined roles as mothers and employees. The main economic activity for women in the rural areas of Ghana was agricultural production. Those along the coast sold fish caught by men. But many of the financial benefits from their commercial activities went into upkeep of the household, while whatever the man made was reinvested in the extended family business. Women were regarded as subordinate to men. This translated into other areas such as education resulting in a resistance of female education. In households where there were limited resources the male child was a priority. Most women did not have the chance to make their own choices of husbands. Such decisions were taken by fathers and senior kinsmen. The marriageable age varied for each ethnic group. But in general men married women younger than their age. On inheritance, wives did not inherit their husbands’ property and children from matrilineal system such as the Akans were expected to inherit from their mother’s family. Ethnic groups such as the Dagombas and the Ewes inherit from fathers (patrilineal). Changing over to the modern world had been slow for Ghanaian women. Even though the Education Act of 1960 expanded and required elementary education, some parents were reluctant to send their daughters to school because they were needed at home and on the farm. It was common knowledge that the woman’s place is the kitchen. Most girls drop after the elementary level. A national census in 1984 revealed the ratio of male to female registration in elementary schools was 55:45, with the percentage of girls dropping at the secondary level. Also 17% of them were registered at the universities in the same year. Again, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, (UNESCO) statistics in 1991 showed no improvement in the percentage of the female population registered at the various levels of the nation’s educational system in 1989 over that recorded in 1984. In spite of this, Ghanaian women have been able to rise to top professional positions. Gender issues pushed women into female-stereotyped careers such as secretarial, nursing professions, teaching, dressmaking and tailoring. It prevented them from “hard” sciences, engineering, and management. Some are employed in the same line of work as men and paid equal wages and granted maternity leave with pay. For those with little or no education living in the urban centres, trading was the main economic activity. The impact of women in Ghanaian society cannot be underestimated. They form over 52% of the country’s population. Despite gains in some areas, gender inequalities continued to limit women’s ability to participate in and contribute to the growth of the economy. A 1996 World Bank report put adult illiteracy rate for women at 47% in 1995 and 24% for men. Girls receive less education than boys. In 1994, 47% of girls were primary students, 35% secondary students and 26% tertiary students. A Ghana Living Standards Survey, (GLSS 1993) revealed that the incidence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus, (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, (AIDS) were three times higher among women than men. The national school curriculum did not contain sufficient information on reproduction, safe sex, HIV and AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. There was discrimination in household nutrition. Women work longer hours than men when unpaid household work is accounted for. Women have relatively poor access to, and control of, agricultural inputs, including land, fertilizer, machinery, and labor. Women have less access to credit from formal channels than men do according to a Ghana Living Standard Survey, (GLSS 1993). Lack of collateral increases women’s difficulty in getting as much credit as they need from formal sources. Women in Ghana are economically active. Engaging in such activities enables them to meet their current needs and invest in the future. But their success in business activities is constrained by cultural, educational, and economic barriers. Working to remove these barriers will boost business for Ghanaian women, and for Ghana.Several studies show large social returns to investing in women’s education and health. Improved education for women results in reduced fertility and mortality rates. Women who are healthier and more educated will be more productive members of the economy. Furthermore, improving the health and education of women produces long-term benefits by improving the health and productivity of their children.School enrollment and retention rates in Ghana have increased for both boys and girls in recent years. With the implementation of the capitation grant the gender gap in enrollment and retention is expected to be bridged. Ghana is party to several international conventions which requires her to guarantee women’s right to housing, equality, education, decision making and health care among others. Women are the ones who suffer most in the deplorable living conditions in slum areas and often excluded from the planning and implementation of water supply and sanitation programmes. Ghanaian women have played and continue to play commendable roles in the development of the country since independence. But their efforts seem not recognized in the country’s decision-making and democratization process. Their representation at the local government level is woefully inadequate and that women are unable to partake in the decision making process. As we celebrate Ghana’s 50th independence anniversary women need to be respected and accepted in society as development partners. In the last three decades, campaigns for fair representation of women in decision making by several advocacy groups have intensified. There have been calls for a review of the criteria for recruitment and appointment to advisory and decision-making bodies and promotion to senior positions. The idea is to ensure that their interests and concerns are represented at policy-making levels and influence key decisions in areas that affect them and society as a whole. Now some women can be found in top political and other public positions. Promoting issues concerning women and children is considered a sure means to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs). Particular attention, analysts say should be given to combating violence against them. This is because violence against women often prevents them from participating actively in the development process, as violence often affects their body, mind and spirit. “Violence against women is perhaps the most shameful human rights violation. And it is perhaps the most pervasive. It knows no boundaries of geography, culture or wealth. As long as it continues, we cannot claim to be making real progress towards equality, development and peace,” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated at a UN Global Videoconference in March in 1999 on ‘A World Free of Violence against Women.’Forms of gender-based violence against women in Ghana include, but not limited to, domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, sexual harassment and female genital mutilation. Public education and sensitization on protecting the rights of women have helped a lot to boost the personality of the Ghanaian woman. Some gender advocates have therefore argued that since the success of any democratic process presupposes a genuine partnership between men and women in the conduct of the affairs of society, there is the need for women who are empowered to see themselves as equal partners in that endeavor. They believe that there is an urgent need to work towards improving the status and well being of women to develop a society where women can exercise their human rights, contribute at all levels and operate on an equal footing with men. Ghanaian women want to be safe everywhere. They want to feel that they have a right as humans. With the passage of the Domestic Violence bill by Parliament on February 21, 2007 after years of anxiety, advocacy groups have heaved a sigh of relief. To them the bill could not have been passed at a better time as a golden jubilee year. What remains is a presidential assent to which they have called on the president to assent to the bill. Even though they recognize the passage of the Domestic Violence bill by Parliament as a major step to women enjoying full citizenship within the house and public life, they expect that Ghanaians also seize the 50th anniversary as a golden opportunity to begin to make a real difference in the lives of ordinary women in Ghana.