WIDENING THE LENS: EMBODIMENTS OF GENDER, WORK AND MIGRATION WITH MARKET WOMEN IN GHANA A Dissertation Submitted to The Temple University Graduate Board in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By LAURIAN REBEKAH BOWLES January 2011 Examining Committee Members Jayasinhji Jhala Ph.D., Advisory Chair, Department of Anthropology Paul Stoller Ph.D., Department of Anthropology Gina Ulysse Ph.D., Department of Anthropology, Wesleyan University Kimmika Williams-Witherspoon, Ph.D., Department of Theatre Ricki Sanders Ph.D., Department of Geography and Urban Studies i ABSTRACT Women have legendary roles as traders who financially dominate the sale of various market goods in West Africa. Head porters are young women from Ghana’s rural northern region who work as human transporters in the various markets in urban areas throughout the country. Kayayei (female head porters) who work at these famed markets are the focus of this dissertation. The north of Ghana is the agricultural breadbasket of the country, with strong Islamic influences that thrive in dispersed, mostly rural ethnic enclaves. This contrasts sharply with the service manufacturing and trade economies that mark Christian influenced southern Ghana. As young women migrants arrive in Accra, this dissertation focuses on narratives of head porters as they confront the multi-ethnic, hierarchical social climates of the city, particularly Accra’s largest shopping venue, Makola Market. This dissertation uses theories in phenomenology, informed by feminist anthropology, to consider the political economy of Ghana in order to examine how head porter’s lives are grounded with the development history and the spread of capitalism in the nation-state. Throughout this dissertation, attention is given to the widespread informalization of the economy in the nation-state and the role of head porters in these processes. Using a methodology of collaborative photography with kayayei, this dissertation examines the politics of visibility and analyzes the kinds of skills these women develop in order to survive and negotiate the socio- economic hierarchies of urban space. By situating the theoretical and methodological concerns of this research within the social realities of rural-urban migrants, this dissertation explores migration as a sensibility that acts upon various social terrains at markets in Accra, Ghana. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All praises due to the Most High God. I give thanks to family. My mother, Tondalaya Bowles, always said it was a matter of “when” I finished, not “if” I finish. Thanks to my dad, Gary Bowles, who always told me to “go with what I know”. My brother keeps my feet on the ground and my eyes away from gazing too hard at my navel. My sister always listens and asks good questions, thank you. I thank my son, Fifi Degarr for his smiles and encouragement. He held my hand as I discovered the maze of Makola. Special thanks to Donald Bowen for salving wounds and stoking my dreams. Shout outs to the Ghana Crew. Cape Coast hammocks and wanderlust mapped “the Plan”. I am also grateful to the Azu family, especially my dear friend Dedo, who always reminded me why this research was important. Thank you to Anthony Carter for the muse. An Asante proverb states, Ananse anton kassa (The spider has not sold words). I am eternally grateful and blessed for my mentor, Dr. Paul Stoller who shares wisdom freely. I give thanks to Dr. Gina Ulysse who steered me to spirit and scholastic guides. Thanks to Dr. Bapa Jhala, who let me do my own thing. In solidarity and love to my sister friend, Dr. Beth Uzwiak. Wood that has been touched by fire is not hard to set alight. From day one to today, we kept our fires burning. We crossed these burning sands together. I ENVISION the future! I dedicate this dissertation to the women at Rawlings Park in Accra, Ghana. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT...................................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.....................................................................................................iii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.....................................................................................................v CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTIONS: ARRIVALS/A RIVAL .................................................................1 2. THEORIZING SELF AND NARRATIVES OF BLACK WOMEN.....................21 3. THE POLITICAL ECONOMY AND THE MAKING OF ETHNICITY...........44 4. HISTORICIZED LABOR AND THE GENDER OF MAKOLA MARKET .............................................................................................................................73 5. PHOTOGRAPHY AND THE POLITICS OF FIELDWORK ............................ 102 6. SNAP WRITING: KAYAYEI REFLECTIONS ON TACTILE KNOWLEDGE ............................................................................................................... 120 7. CONCLUSION................................................................................................................ 170 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................................................................ 177 iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration Page 1. Map 3.1: The ten administrative regions of Ghana........................................................64 2. Photography 4.1: The arches at Rawlings Park...............................................................74 3. Photograph 6.1. Shani, a female head porter. Makola Market, Accra, Ghana……….................................................................................................................... 122 4. Photograph 6.2: Habiba’s son preparing for the evening meal at Agbogbloshie..................................................................................................................... 129 5. Photograph 6.3: Habiba’s son after dinner................................................................... 130 6. Photograph 6:4: Portrait of Rahida, a female head porter ......................................... 138 7. Photograph 6.5: Tani, a female head porter ................................................................. 142 8. Photograph 6.6: Head Porters at Agbogbloshie .......................................................... 147 9. Photograph 6.7 Head Porters at Tema Station ............................................................ 149 10. Photograph 6.8 Workers at Tema Station..................................................................... 149 11. Photograph 6.9 Mariama’s friend at Rawlings Park .................................................... 150 12. Photography 6.10 Porters working at Rawlings Park.................................................. 151 13. Photograph 6.11: Kisu at work at Rawlings Park ........................................................ 156 14. Photograph 6.12 Fatima’s “Truth of Accra”................................................................ 163 15. Photograph 6.13: Shoes for sale at Makola Market..................................................... 164 v CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: ARRIVAL/ A RIVAL Accra’s Makola Market can be a dangerous and alienating place, especially for a young woman who has just migrated to Ghana’s bustling capital city. In December 2007, twenty-year-old migrant Amina Abubakahr arrived at Accra’s boisterous Tema Station bus depot. The wondrous stories of successful market women she had heard convinced her to leave the country’s northern region and travel 800 kilometers to Makola market. The Northern Region is the largest of Ghana’s ten administrative areas but resources are scarce. Agricultural farming seasons dictate much of daily life and wage-earning jobs are few. Drought takes its toll on the land and large numbers of farmers rely on cash crops to earn income. She had few contacts in the city but Amina estimated she would earn about 500,000 cedis a day as a porter1. Porters are the women who transport goods through the narrow labyrinth of passageways at the vibrant market. Women like Amina, who migrate from rural northern regions of Ghana, enter Accra’s informal work sector as migrants who sell services known as kaya (Opare 2003). Kayayei transport customer’s market purchases in large pans on their heads for a fee. Kaya is a common word in West African languages such as Hausa, Songhay and Ga. This means “load, goods or luggage” and “to carry or transport” (Opare 2003). In Ga, Yoo means female. The terms kayayoo and kayayei mean female head porter(s) (Apt 1996, Opare 2003, CAS 1999, Payne 2004). This dissertation focuses on the experiences and narratives of kayayei at the urban market in Ghana. 1 In 2007, Ghana’s currency (cedi) was redenominated. In effect, four zeros were dropped from the larger bills. Even with the redenomination, most Ghanaians continue to describe monetary values in the old currency denominations. The 500,000 cedi mentioned is equivalent to 50 GHC ($51). In February 2007, the exchange rate was .97 US to one GHC. 1 Accra is a seductive place for young women who hope head porterage will bolster their obligatory financial support efforts to their parents as well as prepare for the families they have once they marry. Months earlier, Amina’s relative came to Accra to work as a kayayoo. She was Amina’s only contact when she arrived. The teem of market people deplete Amina’s efforts to find her cousin. Because women from the north cover their hair at Makola Market, Amina used these visual cues to begin conversations about where to