Women's Participation in Small-Scale Gold Mining Activities in the Talensi
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Transformining Customary System in Ghana: Women’s Participation in Small-Scale Gold Mining Activities in the Talensi District by Elizabeth Nana Mbrah Koomson A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirments for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Social Work and Anthropology) in the University of Michigan 2017 Doctoral Committee: Professor Emerita Letha Chadiha, Co-Chair Professor Stuart Kirsch, Co-Chair Associate Professor Emerita Edith Lewis Professor Elisha Renne Associate Professor Trina Shanks Elizabeth Nana Mbrah Koomson [email protected] ORCID NUMBER: 0000-0002-6354-3606 ©Elizabeth N Koomson 2017 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I dedicate this research to the women and men in the small-scale gold mining community in the Talensi district in Ghana, especially to the women at Kejetia, who contributed to this research in many ways, revealing to me the many challenges to women’s efforts in the small- scale mining industry. From my first day in Kejetia, the miners received me with kindness, opened their homes to me, and shared with me their personal and difficult lives. I am very grateful and humbled by the way women willingly allowed me entry into their private spaces, the ease with which we have developed lasting friendships, and supported me throughout my fieldwork. I am especially thankful to Monica for sharing her one-bedroom space, introducing me to her friends, and explaining my project to those who were amazed that a fellow Ghanaian woman would spend one year in their community to collect data for research. Kejetia, bopowha wo mpohoya. To the staff of the Upper East Minerals Commission and the Talensi District Assembly, I am grateful for welcoming me into your offices and granting me interviews, in spite of your busy schedule. I am particularly indebted to the regional director of the Minerals Commission and the district planner of the Assembly. Patrick Awuni of the Talensi District Assembly deserves special mention for continuing to answer my questions and sending me maps several months after I had left Kejetia.To my friend, David, who introduced me to the Minerals Commission and travelled with me between Tongo, the district capital, and Kejetia during the nights as well as accompany me to visit other communities. I am also thankful to my roommate in Tongo, Hideco, who was a volunteer of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), for sharing stories with ii me about Japan and your experience in the Talensi district in the evenings. Thank you for all of that. In particular, I am very grateful to my dissertation committee: Letha Chadiha, Stuart Kirsch, Edith Lewis, Elisha Renne, and Trina Shanks. You brought into the dissertation useful unique experiences. A special thank you goes to Letha and Stuart for your time, support, and dedication to all the phases of my dissertation: pre-fieldwork, fieldwork, and writing. The monthly reports during my fieldwork produced guidance and focus for me. I would also like to thank the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, the Department of Anthropology and the School of Social Work who supported me throughout the years with funding. I am grateful to the former doctoral program directors of the School of Social Work, Berit Ingersoll- Dayton, whose smile was always welcoming and good advice guided me as well as the Department of Anthropology, Bruce Mannheim, whose support helped me to navigate the two programs. My special thanks goes to Todd Huynh for constantly reminding me to meet my doctoral requirements and answering all my questions, as well as Debbie Fitch for the support you offered throughout my doctoral degree. I also thank Laura Thomas for helping with all the bureaucratic tasks. My special thank you goes to Rosemary Sarri of the University of Michigan Institute of Social Research for supporting my work and ensuring my children’s academic success. I am also thankful to Phyllis Stillman and Danielle LaVaque-Manty for supporting with editing. I am very ggrateful to the University of Michigan Center for the Education of Women for the generous fund you provided, especially for writing the dissertation as well as the African Studies Center. iii Finally, to my husband Paa-Kofi and children Shirley, Sheila, Tawiah, and Ekow thank you for the love, guidance, encouragement, and financial support. You have made this work possible. I say “Ayekoo” to you all. iv Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................................... ii LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................... x LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... xi LIST OF ACRONYMS ............................................................................................................. xii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................ xiii INTRODUCTION: SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL APPROACHES TO GENDER ROLES AND ACCESS TO RESOURCES ............................................................... 1 My Family Story ......................................................................................................................... 1 Overview of Dissertation ................................................................................................................ 2 Gender Roles: The Ghanaian Situation ........................................................................................... 8 Gender Roles among the Talensi .................................................................................................. 15 Women’s Struggle to Access Resources ....................................................................................... 16 Interconnection between Social Work and Anthropology ............................................................ 20 Social Work Research, Practice, and Policy ................................................................................. 20 Conceptual Approaches to Anthropology ..................................................................................... 22 Interdisciplinary Approaches Explored ........................................................................................ 24 Methodology and Research Site ................................................................................................... 28 The Upper East Region of Ghana ................................................................................................. 29 The Talensi District....................................................................................................................... 31 History of Talensi District ......................................................................................................... 32 Talensi Small-scale Gold Mining Communities ........................................................................... 34 v Anthropological Dissertation Fieldwork in the Talensi Small-scale Mining Communities ......... 36 Social and Demographic Characteristics of the Talensi Women Miners ..................................... 41 Chapter Overview ......................................................................................................................... 41 CHAPTER ONE: GENDER REPRODUCTION: WORK PATTERNS AND SOCIAL MECHANISMS OF TALENSI WOMEN IN SMALL-SCALE GOLD MINING IN GHANA ....................................................................................................................................................... 49 Operationalization of Gender Reproduction ................................................................................. 51 Azuma’s Story ........................................................................................................................... 54 Theoretical Approaches to Gendered Jobs in Talensi Small-scale Gold Mines ........................... 58 Gendered Practices and Symbolic Representations in Talensi Small-scale Gold Mines ............. 64 Talensi Values and Ideologies ................................................................................................... 65 Demographic Characteristics of Talensi Women in Gold Production .......................................... 66 The Daily Life of Women in the Talensi Mining Communities ............................................... 67 Women as Shankers .................................................................................................................. 69 Women in Salmabalga Work .................................................................................................... 70 Tools and Equipment for Shanking and Salmabalga .................................................................... 72 Doing Gender and Social Exclusion ............................................................................................. 77 Talensi Savings/Credit Schemes and Welfare Associations ......................................................... 80 Voluntary Association: Susu or Rotating Credit Scheme ......................................................... 80 Voluntary Association: Welfare ................................................................................................ 82 Voluntary Associations: Socio-Economic Networks of Support .................................................. 85 Microcredit ...................................................................................................................................