\?.rm IVEl^lT^ Of GHANiA Edited by Elizabeth Ai iayfio-Schandorf THE CHANGING FAMILY IN GHANA Edited by Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf Accra, Ghana from IS th ^ fh T m u a ^ T m ^ ke!datthe Golden ™ P Hotel, INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES LIBRAP.Y f i l l University of Ghana, Legon Ghana Universities Press, Accra Published for FAMILY AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY & RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT UNIVERSITY OF GHANA LEGON, GHANA by Ghana Universities Press P. O. Box 4219 Accra, Ghana © Family and Development Programme 1996 ISBN: 9964-3-0249-5 The opinions in this book rest with the Family and Development Programme, Department of Geography and Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to the Family and Development Programme, Department of Geography and Resource Develop­ ment, University of Ghana, Legon, Ghana. Sponsored by the United Nations Population Fund Typeset by Family and Development Programme, University of Ghana, Legon. Printed and Bound by Assemblies of God Literature Centre Ltd., Accra TABLE OF CONTENTS List o f Figures A cknowledgement Foreword The Changing Family and National Development in Ghana D. S. Boateng The Child Within the Ghanaian Family Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu & Christine Dowuona-Hammond Gender Roles and Household Allocation of Resources and Decision-Making in Ghana C. K. Brown Reproductive Decision-Making in a Changing Ghanaian Family Daniel Buor Family Dynamics and Residential Arrangements in Ghana John HodiakAddai-Sundiata Family Law and Customary Practices for Child Maintenance and Inheritance in Ghana L. Oware-Gyekye, Alexina Arthur & E.V.O. Dankwa The Impact of PAMSCAD on the Family: A Study of Credit Intervention in the Western Region Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf C.K. Brown & Peter B. Aglobitse Adolescent Fertility and Reproductive Behaviour in Ghana John S. Nabila & Clara Fayorsey Women's Access to Agricultural Land in the Household: A Case Study of Three Selected Districts in Ghana George Benneh, R. Kasim Kasanga & Doris Amoy aw 10 Incidence of Child Fostering Among School Children in Ghana Elizabeth A rdayfio-Schandorf & Margaret A miss ah 11 Implications of Economic Recovery Programme (ERP)/ Programme of Action to Mitigate the Social Cost of Adjustment (PAMSCAD) for the Economic Wellbeing of Children in Ghana Kwabia Bo at eng 12 Family Law Policy and Research Agenda Henrietta J.A.N. Mensa-Bonsu LIST OF FIGURES Fig. la Percentage Distribution of Causes for Single Parenthood by Males 91 Fig. lb Percentage Distribution of Causes for Single Parenthood by Females 91 Fig. 2 Percentage Distribution of Answers to Question whether Respondents have heard about PNDCL 111 101 Fig. 3 Current Personal Income of Women Participants as Compared with 117 Last Three Years Fig. 4 Increase in Women's Time Use Patterns 120 Fig. 5 Women's Empowerment in the Western Region 122 Fig. 6 Provision of Child's Needs 127 Fig. 7 Improvement in Communities Facilities 133 Fig. 8 The Proportion of Adolescents (15-19) Who have begun child-bearing 144 Fig. 9 Adolescent child-bearing based on Rural/Urban Background 144 Fig. 10 Regional Differentials in Adolescents child-bearing 145 Fig. 11 Percentage of Adolescents (15-19) who have begun child-bearing by Level of Education 145 Fig. 12 Current Use of Contraceptives (Age 15-19) 146 Fig. 13 Age at First Sexual Relation 147 Fig. 14 Mean Number of Children Ever Bom 149 Fig. 15 Level of Unwanted Pregnancy/Terminated Pregnancies 150 Fig. 16 Determinant of Sex Indulgence by Adolescents 151 Fig. 17 Ethnic Background of Children 183 Fig. 18 Religious Affiliation of Children 184 Fig. 19 Male and Female Foster Children (Percentage) 185 Fig. 20 Reasons for Transfer of Child into a New Home 187 Fig. 21 Dependents of Foster Parents (including Foster Child) 190 Fig. 22 Foster and Non-Foster Children Engaged in Economic Activities 192 Fig. 23 Deprived Children Reported to the Accra Family Tribunal, 1989-1993 194 CONTRIBUTORS Dr. John Hodiak Addai-Sundiata is a Senior Lecturer and Head of Department, Department of Sociology, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast. Mr. Peter B. Aglobitse is a Lecturer in the Economics Department, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast. Ms. Margaret Amissah is from the Department of Geography & Resource Development and attached to the Family and Development Programme, University of Ghana, Legon. Mrs. Doris Amoyaw is the Vice Principal of the Kumasi Technical Institute, Kumasi. Prof. Elizabeth Ardayfio-Schandorf is an Associate Professor, Department of Geography & Resource Development and the National Project Coordinator of the Family and Development Programme (FADEP), University of Ghana. Mrs. Alexina Arthur is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages, University of Ghana, Legon. Prof. George Benneh is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon. Hon. D. S. Boateng is the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Accra. Dr. Kwabia Boateng is a Lecturer in the Economics Department, University of Ghana, Legon. Prof. C. K. Brown is an Associate Professor and Director, Centre for Development Studies, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast. Mr. Daniel Buor is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Social Science, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. Prof. E. V O. Dankwa is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon. Mrs. Christine Dowuona-Hammond is a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana, Legon. Dr. Clara Fayorsey is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology Department, Univeisity of Ghana, Legon. Dr. L. Oware Gyekye is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana, Legon. Prof. R. Kasim Kasanga is an Associate Professor and Director of the Land Administration Research Centre, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi. Mrs. Henrietta J. A. N. Mensa-Bonsu is a Senior Lecturer in the Law Faculty, University of Ghana, Legon. Prof. John S. Nabila is an Associate Professor and Head of Department, Department of Geography & Resource Development, University of Ghana, Legon. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A book of this nature, resulting as it were from such an intensive research programme, owes so much to a large number of individuals and institutions all of which could not be named here. In the first place, the University extends its deepest gratitude to the United Nations Population Fund for sponsoring the whole programme. Thanks also go to the entire staff, especially the Country Representative, Mr. Teferi Seyoum, for his support, resources and advice that led to the timely and successful completion of this phase of the work. The programme is the result of a collaboration between the University of Ghana and the Population Council, New York. The programme, therefore, benefited from the insights, generous useful comments and experiences of Dr. Cynthia B. Lloyd, the Director of Social Science Research, who provided technical assistance throughout this phase of the programme on behalf of the Council. The Technical Advisory Committee of the Family and Development Programme has provided excellent guidance for the programme since its inception in 1992. The team of experts and editors, who usually work relentlessly to review the technical papers, also deserve our gratitude. The support of the Government of Ghana and the high involvement and participation of the Minister of Employment and Social Welfare, Honourable D.S. Boateng, in the programme are very much appreciated. The University of Ghana also acknowledges the contribution of the sister universities in the country and all those who assisted in diverse ways. Finally, thanks are due to the computer programmer, the research assistants and the secretaries for their invaluable assistance. FOREWORD This publication is a manifestation of the significant strides being made by the Family and Development Programme, University of Ghana towards the efforts of the Government to improve the quality of life and welfare of families in the country. The family research programme, the first of its kind to be launched and supported by the Government, is a programme of capacity building, research and policy assessment. It provides relevant and pertinent data to serve as a basis for advocacy and policy formulation and for the implementation of population and family planning programmes. Based in the Department of Geography and Resource Development, the programme was conceived at a time when the protracted economic crisis of the country has had long term consequences for research capacity and the generation of ongoing knowledge about existing socio-economic conditions in Ghana. Since the mid-1970s much less work has been published because of lack of funds for research and the difficult economic circumstances within the universities. As a result, our understanding of the family in Ghana continued to rely on research findings from the late 1960s and early 1970s when the country has undergone many dramatic changes since that time. The University of Ghana has, therefore, been supported by the United Nations Population Fund since 1992 to build research capacity in the University, and at the same time to broaden and deepen the population debate within the country at the time the new National Population Council was being developed and installed. It also coincided with the Government’s institution of the National Day of the Family on 15 May 1994, the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, 1994) and the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, which are important landmarks in population and development; thus making it possible for the programme to make positive input. The analyses contained in this volume are summaries of the detailed research work on the family undertaken by the University of Ghana throughout the country. They comprise well-researched state-of-the-art report and empirical studies on various types of family among the major ethnic groups of the country. Hence the findings represent invaluable data by providing deep insights about traditional and modem households and making original contributions to the current population and development debate.