Women in District Assemblies in Ghana: Gender Construction, Resistance and Empowerment
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Edith Cowan University Research Online Theses: Doctorates and Masters Theses 2017 Women in District Assemblies in Ghana: Gender construction, resistance and empowerment Janet Serwah Boateng Edith Cowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses Part of the Political Science Commons, and the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Boateng, J. S. (2017). Women in District Assemblies in Ghana: Gender construction, resistance and empowerment. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2048 This Thesis is posted at Research Online. https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/2048 Edith Cowan University Copyright Warning You may print or download ONE copy of this document for the purpose of your own research or study. The University does not authorize you to copy, communicate or otherwise make available electronically to any other person any copyright material contained on this site. 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Women in District Assemblies in Ghana: Gender Construction, Resistance and Empowerment This thesis is presented for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Janet Serwah Boateng Edith Cowan University School of Arts and Humanities 2017 i Copyright The Copyright statement is now available before the thesis title page. iii Declaration I declare that this thesis does not, to the best of my knowledge and belief: i. Incorporate, without acknowledgement, any material previously submitted for a degree or diploma in any institution of higher education; ii. Contain any material previously published or written by another person except where due reference is made in the text; or iii. Contain any defamatory material. I also grant permission for the Library at Edith Cowan University to make duplicate copies of my thesis as required at its discretion, upon requests of individuals or institutions and at their expense. The author reserves all publication rights. Date: October 2017 iii Abstract Calls for more female participation in politics have featured strongly in developed and developing countries since 1975 when the UN made women’s issues a priority. Ghanaian society’s underlying patriarchal structure has made some progress towards gender equity in politics. Whilst there has been a significant improvement in levels of female participation and representation rates, targets have not been reached and the least amount of progress has taken place in local government. The thesis draws upon theories of gender and development (GAD) that emphasises on gender relations in development and proposed the empowerment of women as central to gender equality. Also, social capital underpins this study in arguing that although social capital tends to be accessed differently by men and women, and that culturally men have more established ways of networking widely, there is potential for women to strategically garner social capital in ways that are beneficial to contesting for political seats. Interviews undertaken individually with 40 women in district assembly (DA) positions, and focus groups of 40 men and 10 women campaigners from 4 zones in the country were transcribed, categorised and coded using Nvivo version 10 software. From this qualitative data, the enabling and precluding factors of participation in local government by women in Ghana were analysed and ranked according to the prevalence in the data. The results identified that enabling factors’ themes were Individual Motivational Strategy, Community Support, Civil Society Support, Family Support and Campaign Strategy. Precluding factors’ themes were Barriers, Challenging Factors, and Discouraging Factors. The issues surrounding gender equity in Ghanaian politics and governance have been comprehensively described against this backdrop of explanations from people with experience of campaigning, taking up official positions, and in some cases withdrawing from politics or competing against women. iv Whilst patriarchal beliefs still abound for aspiring and serving female politicians, some candidates have been able to achieve high levels of male support, and many feel voters’ support has come from constituents’ belief that representation by a woman is their best hope of having development addressing women’s issues. The findings are potentially useful to future aspiring female politicians in Ghana, and other stakeholders committed to encouraging and supporting women with the overall aim of achieving gender equity. v Table of Contents Copyright ................................................................................................................................ ii Declaration ............................................................................................................................. iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .................................................................................................................. vii List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ xi List of Tables ....................................................................................................................... xiii List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................ xv Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. xix Dedication ............................................................................................................................ xxi Chapter 1 ....................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction: Background of the Study ................................................................................... 1 Part One ................................................................................................................................. 3 Demography of Ghana ......................................................................................................... 3 Socialisation and Socio-Cultural Barriers to Women’s Participation in Public Office ........ 5 Culture ....................................................................................................................... 6 Patriarchy ....................................................................................................................... 7 Family System ................................................................................................................... 8 Marriage ....................................................................................................................... 9 Religion ..................................................................................................................... 10 Funeral Rites .................................................................................................................... 11 Social Class ..................................................................................................................... 12 Preference to Male Education .......................................................................................... 14 Females as Dependants .................................................................................................... 14 Gender Roles ................................................................................................................... 16 Participation and Representation of Ghanaian Women in Politics ..................................... 21 Electoral System in Ghana ................................................................................................. 27 Political Systems and Governance in Ghana ...................................................................... 30 Local Government System in Ghana .................................................................................. 31 Part Two ............................................................................................................................... 38 Global Perspectives of Under-Representation of Women in Government ......................... 38 International Efforts Towards Gender Equality ................................................................. 41 Profiles of Some Female Political Achievers ..................................................................... 44 Governments’ Efforts to Reduce Inequality in Ghana ....................................................... 46 Affirmative Action ............................................................................................................