Women and Community Development In Rural Africa: Deconstructing Dominant Narratives
Although women’s critical roles in rural community development in Africa is undisputed, its recent discursive appeal in development policy raises questions regarding the ways in which the women living in rural contexts have been mis/understood, mis/appropriated and marginalized. Arguing that two narratives emerge: rural women as victims and rural women as agents of change, this chapter examines the ways in which African women’s experience in rural community development has been framed to ...
Enhancing women's political fortunes: Is a 50/50 Campaign possible?
The 50/50 Campaign as a tool for enhancing women’s political participation has gained currency in recent time. Its call for equal participation of women and men in politics and public office has reinvigorated various activisms globally. This paper examines the Campaign within the context of Ghanaian women’s political fortunes. Contesting its feasibility against a background of women’s poor performance at national elections and political appointments, it argues that the suc...
Gender Studies in Ghana
Drawing from personal and programming experience, historical documentations and analytical sources, I have examined the various framings of GS to show that it embraces multiple meanings as ‘discipline,’ research, programmes and discourse. I have also engaged in a historical and reflective analysis of the evolution of GCS at three levels; global, continental and local/national to reveal that GS has a long discursive tradition that has been borne out of activism and scholarship. I have show...
Womens Movement and Political Change in West Africa
In the present wave of increasing democratization, women’s movements remain critical to the advancement of democratic reforms and political change. In Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the focus of this analysis, women have mobilized around human and economic rights and peace and security over the last two decades with some considerable success although not without challenges. This paper examines emerging trends in the agenda and tools/strategies that the women’s movements have...
Dilemma of African Unity
The paper examines the dilemma of African unity against the background of the multiplicity of political interests and agenda. It examines this in the contest of the African Union and it sub-regional groupings and in relation to external political interests such as donors, multi-laterals and bilaterals. It argues that the on-going unity efforts have been simplified and enmeshed in a return to a tradition that from the onset had not understood the complexities of the continent and its histor...
Tullum
This chapter contributes to the process of knowledge recreation by initiating a process of “retrieving” wisdom, tullum from the past, which I argue has possibilities for development. It entails the retrieval of living wisdom that resides with women and not a relic located in a museum. This living wisdom has been nurtured and guarded by African women, has been used to mitigate crisis and to support everyday living. It is wisdom that has survived all forms of domination, whether patriarchal...
Over Fifty Years of Independence- What has Happened to Equity in Higher Education
The chapter examines the problem of equity in higher education in Ghana with the view to determining progress since independence. Various studies on the provision of higher education in the country dating back to the colonial era have and continue to raise concerns about equity (Manu et al, 2007; Bening, 2005; Antwi, 1992). Indeed, if there has been one common trend in the many review or reform reports that have defined and shaped educational reforms at all levels in the country, prior to and...
Is gender yet another colonial project?
This paper questions Oyeronke Oyewumi’s (1997) claim in her thought-provoking work, ‘The invention of women: Making an African sense of Western gender discourse,’ that gender in African societies is a colonial project. It interrogates Oyewumi’s project of contesting meanings that lack understandings and appreciation of history and culture. Using conceptual analysis and desk reviews interlaced with anecdotal snippets, the paper attempts a re-reading of Oyewumi interrogations of social ...