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The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the Implications of Covert Gynocracy

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The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the Implications of Covert Gynocracy THE AKAN QUEEN MOTHERS IN GHANA AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF COVERT GYNOCRACY FIONA ARABA GIBSON Thesis submitted to Cardiff School of Management in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. 2010 Cardiff School of Management University of Wales Institute, Cardiff Colchester Avenue Cardiff, UK, CF23 9XR The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy DECLARATION I declare that this work has not been previously accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted for any other degree. I further declare that this thesis is the result of my own independent work and investigation, except where otherwise stated (a bibliography is appended). Finally, I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photography and inter-library loan, and for the title and abstract to be made available to outside organisations. Signed: Fiona Araba Gibson (Candidate) Signed: Professor Annette Pritchard (Director of Studies) Signed: Professor Eleri Jones (Supervisor) Page ii The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to God Almighty, through whom I had the knowledge, strength and energy to persevere against all odds to achieve my dream. I describe the inspiration on which I drew to write the thesis on the position of Akan Queen Mothers, about whom very little is known, as divine because I believed I was guided through this journey by Supreme Being and very grateful to Him, Amen. This thesis is also dedicated to two formidable women in my life, my grandmother and mother whom through their relentless efforts used every resource they had when they were alive to support me throughout my education. The study is also dedicated to my family for their endless patience, support and encouragement, especially to my four children, Chris Ephine Nana Yaw Twum, Fiona Akosua Benuye Ewurasi Twum, Ebo John Twum and Ekow Lenard Twum for all the hard times they have suffered during my research journey. It is also dedicated to all friends who supported and helped me along the way, especially David Jenkins, who showed an outstanding love, dedication, patience and understanding during my research studies. I must say he is very reliable friend and I use this opportunity to thank him dearly by standing by me during the hard times. Page iii The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my sincere thanks and deep gratitude to my supervisors for giving me the opportunity to pursue an attractive research topic. I sincerely, thanked Professor David Botterill for his immense research advice and encouragement, which guided me throughout my research journey. I am indebted to Professor Eleri Jones for her guidance, valuable inputs, assistance and encouragement along the way. Professor Jones‟s brilliant contributions and effective review of the work is highly acknowledged. Finally, for drawing my attention to the contradictory position of Akan Queen Mothers regarding their power and authority and their background position in Akan social organisation of Ghana. I am also indebted to Professor Annette Pritchard for her critically positive and constructive criticisms in shaping this thesis to acceptable level. Thanks are extended to all formal and informal Ghanaian men and women who agreed to participate in both unstructured individual and focus or group interviews in Ghana on the position of Akan Queen Mothers of Ghana. Thanks are also extended to all special friends who freely offered help and the experiences they exposed are indeed appreciated. I also want to thank Katerina Ciura for editing my thesis as well as Mrs Janet Simons for her immense support while writing this research thesis. Finally, I would like to thank all organisations and women groups PANAFEST festival Foundation, the Ministry of Tourism and few more organisations and individuals for providing every possible help. I use this occasion to thank every body in Ghana News Agency, for the immense support I received during the time of the field study in Ghana, especially in shaping me into a fantastic narrative story teller. Page iv The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy ABSTRACT Akan society in Ghana is a covert gynocracy. The Akan Queen Mothers assume a background position despite being co-political rulers of Akan traditional political chieftaincy institutions with sole authority and power for electing a man to be enstooled as king or chief. This background position results directly from traditional cultural and social norms - “cultural politics” - that have existed in Ghana from pre- colonial times to the modern-day and reflect how wider Ghanaian society perceives women. Festivals are extremely important in Ghana with women playing a central role in festival celebrations. One such festival of national and international importance is PANAFEST which celebrates the ideals of Pan-Africanism. PANAFEST is dominated by men with women, apart from the Queen Mothers, playing a secondary role in the celebrations, only one day focuses on women's activities. This study investigates the implications of covert gynocracy for women‟s empowerment in Ghana through a case study of women in tourism, particularly PANAFEST, and the role of the Akan Queen Mothers therein. Promoting social harmony rather than gender equality, this post-modern feminist study interprets rich qualitative data generated from unstructured interviews with better-educated individuals and focus group discussions with less well-educated individuals at three PANAFEST destinations. The thesis discusses the structures that underpin Akan society and the power and authority of the Akan Queen Mothers as decision-makers, particularly in respect of kingship. It exposes the contradiction of the Queen Mothers‟ power and authority with their background position as covert gynocracy and the implications of this for women‟s empowerment. The thesis presents the Theory of the Giant Leap to encapsulate the enormous challenges for women‟s empowerment in Ghana through addressing covert gynocracy and male hegemony. The thesis concludes that there is no short-term panacea and that issues can only be addressed in the long-term through education. Page v The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH JOURNEY 1.1 Introduction 1-2 1.2 My Personal Journey 1-6 1.2.1 My Childhood and Strong Maternal Influences 1-8 1.2.2 My Grandmother - the Queen Mother of my life 1-10 1.2.3 My Mother 1-11 1.2.4 Life as a Boarding Student 1-11 1.2.5 Life as a Married Woman 1-13 1.3 The PANAFEST Festival and Tourism Development in Ghana 1-14 1.4 Community and Village-Based Tourism in Ghana 1-15 1.5 UNWTO, Tourism and Poverty Alleviation 1-17 1.5.1 Sustainable Tourism Development and Poverty 1-20 Alleviation in Ghana 1.5.2 Pro-Poor Tourism Potential in Ghana 1-22 1.6 Selecting a Thesis Topic 1-23 1.6.1 Research Problem 1-24 1.6.2 Research Study Aims and Objectives 1-26 1.7 Overview of Thesis 1-28 CHAPTER TWO: POST-MODERN FEMINISM: THE ROAD TO SOCIAL HARMONY IN AKAN SOCIETY? 2.1 Introduction 2-2 2.2 World Views on Feminism 2-3 2.2.1 Liberal feminism 2-5 2.2.2 Marxist feminism 2-6 2.2.3 Radical feminism 2-7 2.2.4 Post-modern feminism 2-8 2.3 Towards Social Harmony 2-10 2.4 The Long Road to Gender Equality 2-14 2.4.1 Gendering 2-14 2.4.2 The glass ceiling 2-15 2.4.3 Under-representation of women in leadership positions 2-16 2.4.4 Women in the media 2-18 2.5 United Nations’ Advancement on Women 2-21 2.5.1 UN critical areas of concerns on gender issues 2-23 2.5.2 UN‟s concerns on media reports of women 2-28 2.6 Summary 2-29 Page vi The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy CHAPTER THREE: GHANA IN BRIEF 3.1 Introduction 3-2 3.2 The Ancient Ghana Empire 3-2 3.3 Pre-colonial Ghana 3-5 3.3.1 European Trade Activities in Pre-colonial Ghana 3-6 3.3.2 Influence of European Trade on Pre-colonial 3-8 Ghana 3.4 The Colonial Period 3-11 3.5 Ghana Today 3-18 3.5.1 Geography and Climatic Conditions in Ghana 3-18 3.5.2 The Volta River 3-20 3.5.3 Ghana‟s Rich Mineral Sources 3-21 3.5.4 Major Ethnic Groups, Languages and Religions in Ghana 3-22 3.5.5 Ghana‟s Educational System 3-23 3.5.6 Regional and District Administration in Ghana 3-25 3.6 Colonial Legacies in Ghana 3-26 3.6.1 The Symbolism of the Flag of Ghana 3-27 3.6.2 The Coat of Arm‟s of Ghana as Colonial Legacy 3-29 3.7 Tourism in Ghana 3-30 3.7.1 Ghana‟s Tourism Development Plan 3-32 3.7.2 Tourism Projections in Ghana 3-34 3.7.3 Tourism Incentives in Ghana 3-35 3.7.4 Tourism Implementation in Ghana 3-36 3.8 Women in Ghana 3-38 3.8.1 Perceptions of Women in Ghana 3-38 3.8.2 Women‟s Suffrage in Ghana 3-39 3.8.3 Colonial Influences - Formal Position of Women in Ghana 3-39 3.8.4 Current Position of Women in Ghana 3-42 3.8.5 Cultural Politics and Female Genital Mutilation 3-43 3.9 Women’s Organisations and Groups in Ghana 3-47 3.10 Ghana’s Situation - Affirmative Action 3-51 3.11 Women and the Media in Ghana 3-52 3.12 Summary 3-58 Page vii The Akan Queen Mothers in Ghana and the implications of covert gynocracy CHAPTER FOUR: THEORETICAL APPROACH 4.1 Introduction 4-2 4.2 Research design 4-3 4.2.1 Epistemology and ontology 4-4 4.2.2 Theoretical perspective 4-8 4.2.3 Methodology 48 4.2.4 Methods 4-10 4.3 Post-modern feminism 4-10 4.3.1 Multiple perspectives and interpretations 4-11 4.3.2 „No one truth‟ 4-12
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