PATRIARCHY AND WOMANHOOD: THE CASE OF THE KONKOMBA WOMAN OF THE NANUMBA NORTH MUCIPALITY IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA
Abstract
As with many other African communities, the Konkomba society is patriarchal and marked by unequal gender relations that place women in subservient roles. This study examined the patriarchal structures now in place among the Konkomba in the Nanumba North Municipality of the Northern Region of Ghana and how they affect the status of Konkomba women as women. The study included numerous methodologies, including descriptive survey research. For qualitative data collection, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were utilised, while a questionnaire was employed to obtain quantitative data. The study sampled a total of 177 participants using both probability and non-probability sampling methods. The primary outcome of the study was the concept of an ideal Konkomba woman as a wife and mother who was also submissive and obedient to her household responsibilities. The conclusion of the study was that the dogma of femininity, which defines women as mothers and wives, is institutionalised to identify women as perfect or incomplete. Several features of gender disparity and discrimination were also uncovered by the investigation. To combat this governing ideology, which is based on patriarchal structures and gender-based discrimination, the study suggests reorienting societal perceptions of women through seminars, durbars, workshops, and adult education, as well as the introduction of gender studies in primary, secondary, and other tertiary institutions.
Keywords: Patriarchy, Womanhood, Traditions, Konkomba, Nanumba North Municipality
References
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Agarwal, B. (1997). “Bargaining” and gender relations: Within and beyond the household. Feminist Economics, 3(1), 1-51.
Akita, E. M. (2010). “Hegemony, Patriarchy and Human Rights: The Representation of Ghanaian Women in Politics”, Curriculum and Instruction, Cultural Studies, June 2010.
Aliber, Michael et al, (2004). The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Land Rights- Case Studies from Kenya (Capetown, HSRC Press).
Allah-Mensah, B. (2005). Women in politics and public life in Ghana. Ghana Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Ghana: Printright.
Annin, C. (2009). From messages to voices: Understanding girls’ education in some selected communities in the Akuapem South District, Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2009).
Anyidoho, N. A. & Manuh, T. (2010). Discourses on Women's Empowerment in Ghana. Development 53 (2): 267-273.
Author. (2002). Beyond Veiling: A Response to Women’s Experiences of Subjugation in African Christian Cultures. Enugu: SNAAP Press.
Azodo, A. U., & Eke M. N. (2007). Gender and Sexuality in African Literature and Film. Eritrea: Africa World Press, Inc.
Bala, M. and Monga, O. P. (2004). “Impact of women employment on decision making in families.” Social welfare Vol. 51, 5: (2004): pp. 13-16.
Bell, D. & Klein, R. (1996). Radically speaking: Feminism reclaimed. Melbourne, Spinifix Press.
Best, J.W. & Kahn, J. V. (1995). Research Education. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall.
Chukwuma, H. (1989). “Positivism and the Female Crisis: The Novels of Buchi Emecheta”. Nigerian Female Writers: A Critical Perspective. H. Otokunefor and O. Nwodo. Lagos, Nigeria: Malthouse Press Ltd.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. London: Routledge.
Cole, C. M., Manuh T. et al. (2007). Africa after Gender? Indiana University Press.
Connell, R. W. (1990). The State, Gender and Sexual Politics: Theory and Appraisal. Theory and Society 19(5): 507-544. Constitution of Ghana (1992).
Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches .2nd ed. London: Sage Publications.
Dadzie, D. (2009). Cost sharing and equity in higher education: Experiences of selected Ghanaian students. (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2009).
Daly, M. (1984). Pure lust: elemental feminist philosophy. Boston, Beacon Press.
Daplah, S. K. (2013). Power Dynamics in Household Decision-Making, An Analysis of Conceptual, Theoretical and Empirical Work, http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
Dawson, A. C. (2000). Becoming Konkomba: Recent Transformations in a Gur Society of Northern Ghana. University of Calgary, Department of Anthropology Calgary, Alberta. 395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada.
Delphy, C. and Leonard, D. (1992). Familiar Exploitation: A New Analysis of Marriage in Contemporary Western Societies. Cambridge, Polity. Eade, D. (1996). Development in Practice, Oxfam, UK.
Dobash, E. & Dobash, R. (1979). Violence against wives: A case against the patriarchy. New York: Free Press.
Dos Santos, T. (1971). “The Structure of Dependence”, American Economic Review, Vol. IX, No.
Egan, S. P. (1999). Women (Re) incorporated: A thesis examining the application of feminist theory to corporate structures and the legal framework of corporate law. Faculty of Law McGill University, Montreal.
Ehrenreich, B. (1995). The decline of patriarchy. In M. Berger, B. Wallis & S. Watson (Eds.), Constructing masculinity (pp. 284-290). New York & London: Routledge.
Eisenstein, Z. (1979). Developing a Theory Capitalist Patriarchy and Socialist Feminism. Capitalist Patriarchy and the case for Socialist Feminism. Eisenstein Z. New York, Monthly Review Press: 5-40.
Eliasu, A. (2013). Early marriage of young females: A panacea to poverty in the northern region of Ghana. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(12), 18-30.
European Commission. (2012). ESF empowerment handbook: Learning network on empowerment and inclusion. Belfast: European Commission.
Firestone, S. (1972). The Dialectic of Sex. London, Paladin.
Flick, U. (2008). Managing quality in qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
German, L. (1981). “Theories of Patriarchy.” International Socialism Journal 2(12) 36-39.
Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. (2008). Retrieved October 9, 2016, from http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SR172/SR172.pdf.
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Goody, J. (1970). Marriage Policy and incorporation in Northern Ghana. In From Tribe to Nation in Africa. Ronald Cohen and John Middleton, eds. Scranton, PA: Chandler Publishing Company.
Hancock, E. (1990). The Girl Within: Touchstone for Women's Identity. In Zweig, Connie (Ed) To Be A Woman: The Birth of the Conscious Feminine. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 55-63.
Hennessy, R. (2002). “Reclaiming Marxist Feminism for a need-based sexual politics. The Socialist Feminist Project: A contemporary reader in theory and politics. N. Holmstrom. New York, Monthly Review Press.
Hey, V. (1989). A feminist exploration. In Hey, Valerie, Itzin, Catherine, Saunders, Lesley & Speakman, Mary Ann, (Eds), Hidden loss; Miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy London: The Women’s Press: p. 51-72.
Issahaku, P. A. (2012). Male Partner Violence against Women in Northern Ghana: Its Dimensions and Health Policy Implications (Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto, 2012).
ISSER. (2016). Shakespeare Lives in Ghana. Roles, Representations and Perceptions of Women in Contemporary Ghanaian Society.
Johnson, A. (2005). The gender knot: Unraveling our patriarchal legacy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Kathewera-Banda, M., Kamanga- Njikho, V., Malera, G., Mauluka, G., Mazinga, M. K., & Ndhlovu, S. (2011). Women’s access to land and household bargaining power: a comparative action research project in patrilineal and matrilineal societies in Malawi. Research Report for Women’s Legal Resource Centre (WOLREC).
Kvale, S., Brinkmann, S. et al. (2009). Det kvalitative forskningsintervju. Oslo, Gyldendal.
Leach, R. (1997). Manly, True and White: Masculine identity and Australian Socialism. The Politics of Identity in Australia. G. Stokes. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Lisle, L. (1999). Without Child: Challenging the Stigma of Childlessness. New York: Routledge.
Maasole, S. C. (2006). The Konkomba and their Neighbours from the pre-European period to 1914: A study in inter-ethnic relations in Northern Ghana. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
MacKinnon, C. (1987). Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987.
MacKinnon, C. (1989). Towards a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989.
Mahama, A. F. (2014). Effects of Empowerment of Women on Role Changes in Ghana: The Case of Nanumba North District.
Makama, G. A. (2013). Patriarchy and Gender Inequality in Nigeria: The Way Forward: European Scientific Journal June 2013 edition vol.9, No.17 ISSN: 1857–7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857 7431.
Millett, K. (1970). Sexual Politics. London, Rupert Hart-Davis.
Mohammed, P. (2004). Unmasking masculinity and deconstructing patriarchy: problems and possibilities within feminist epistemology. In R. E. Reddock (Eds.), Interrogating Caribbean masculinities: theoretical and empirical analyses (pp. 38-67). University of the West Indies Press
Neema, M. (2015). Women's empowerment and decision-making at the household level: A case study of Ankore families in Uganda Tilburg: Tilburg University.
NNDA (2014). District Medium Term Plan, Bimbilla.
Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2001). Cultural Obstacles to Equal Representation. Journal of Democracy. 12(3), 126–140.
Nukunya, G. K. (2003). Tradition and change in Ghana: introduction to sociology. Second edition. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
Siim, B. (1990). Towards a Feminist Rethinking of the Welfare State. The Political Interests of Gender: Developing Theory and Research with a Feminist Face. K. Jones and A. Jonasdottir. London, Sage: 160-186.
Strobel, M. (1982). African women. Signs, 8(1), 109-131.
Sultana, A. (2012) “Patriarchy and Women’s Subordination: A Theoretical Analysis”. The Arts Faculty Journal, 4(1), 18.
Swanborn, P. (2010). Case study research: What, why and how? (1st edition). London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Tait, D. (1961). The Konkomba of Northern Ghana. London: Published for the International African Institute and the University of Ghana by the Oxford University Press.
Tanye, M. (2008). Access and barriers to education for Ghanaian women and girls. Interchange, 39 (2), 167–184.
The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992. Retrieved 3 February 2017, from http://www.judicial.gov.gh/constitution/chapter/chap_5.htm.
Tsikata, D. (1997). Gender equality and the state in Ghana: Some issues of policy and practice. In I. Ayesha & A. Sow (Eds.), Engendering African social sciences. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
Tsikata, D. (2009). Affirmative Action and the Prospects for Gender Equality in Ghanaian Politics. Abantu, Women in Broadcasting.
Uchem R. N. and Ngwa, S. E. (2014). Subordination of Women in 21st century Africa: Cultural Sustainability or a New Slavery? Implications for Educational Development: Developing Country Studies, www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-607X (Paper) ISSN 2225-0565 (Online) Vol.4, No.24, 2014.
UNDP. (2012a). Women entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women: Making a difference in women’s lives. New York: UNDP.
Walby, S. (1990). Theorizing Patriarchy. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.: Oxford, UK and Cambridge USA.
Agarwal, B. (1997). “Bargaining” and gender relations: Within and beyond the household. Feminist Economics, 3(1), 1-51.
Akita, E. M. (2010). “Hegemony, Patriarchy and Human Rights: The Representation of Ghanaian Women in Politics”, Curriculum and Instruction, Cultural Studies, June 2010.
Aliber, Michael et al, (2004). The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Land Rights- Case Studies from Kenya (Capetown, HSRC Press).
Allah-Mensah, B. (2005). Women in politics and public life in Ghana. Ghana Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Ghana: Printright.
Annin, C. (2009). From messages to voices: Understanding girls’ education in some selected communities in the Akuapem South District, Ghana (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2009).
Anyidoho, N. A. & Manuh, T. (2010). Discourses on Women's Empowerment in Ghana. Development 53 (2): 267-273.
Author. (2002). Beyond Veiling: A Response to Women’s Experiences of Subjugation in African Christian Cultures. Enugu: SNAAP Press.
Azodo, A. U., & Eke M. N. (2007). Gender and Sexuality in African Literature and Film. Eritrea: Africa World Press, Inc.
Bala, M. and Monga, O. P. (2004). “Impact of women employment on decision making in families.” Social welfare Vol. 51, 5: (2004): pp. 13-16.
Bell, D. & Klein, R. (1996). Radically speaking: Feminism reclaimed. Melbourne, Spinifix Press.
Best, J.W. & Kahn, J. V. (1995). Research Education. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall.
Chukwuma, H. (1989). “Positivism and the Female Crisis: The Novels of Buchi Emecheta”. Nigerian Female Writers: A Critical Perspective. H. Otokunefor and O. Nwodo. Lagos, Nigeria: Malthouse Press Ltd.
Cohen, L., Manion, L. & Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education. London: Routledge.
Cole, C. M., Manuh T. et al. (2007). Africa after Gender? Indiana University Press.
Connell, R. W. (1990). The State, Gender and Sexual Politics: Theory and Appraisal. Theory and Society 19(5): 507-544. Constitution of Ghana (1992).
Creswell, J.W. (2003). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches .2nd ed. London: Sage Publications.
Dadzie, D. (2009). Cost sharing and equity in higher education: Experiences of selected Ghanaian students. (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2009).
Daly, M. (1984). Pure lust: elemental feminist philosophy. Boston, Beacon Press.
Daplah, S. K. (2013). Power Dynamics in Household Decision-Making, An Analysis of Conceptual, Theoretical and Empirical Work, http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh.
Dawson, A. C. (2000). Becoming Konkomba: Recent Transformations in a Gur Society of Northern Ghana. University of Calgary, Department of Anthropology Calgary, Alberta. 395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada.
Delphy, C. and Leonard, D. (1992). Familiar Exploitation: A New Analysis of Marriage in Contemporary Western Societies. Cambridge, Polity. Eade, D. (1996). Development in Practice, Oxfam, UK.
Dobash, E. & Dobash, R. (1979). Violence against wives: A case against the patriarchy. New York: Free Press.
Dos Santos, T. (1971). “The Structure of Dependence”, American Economic Review, Vol. IX, No.
Egan, S. P. (1999). Women (Re) incorporated: A thesis examining the application of feminist theory to corporate structures and the legal framework of corporate law. Faculty of Law McGill University, Montreal.
Ehrenreich, B. (1995). The decline of patriarchy. In M. Berger, B. Wallis & S. Watson (Eds.), Constructing masculinity (pp. 284-290). New York & London: Routledge.
Eisenstein, Z. (1979). Developing a Theory Capitalist Patriarchy and Socialist Feminism. Capitalist Patriarchy and the case for Socialist Feminism. Eisenstein Z. New York, Monthly Review Press: 5-40.
Eliasu, A. (2013). Early marriage of young females: A panacea to poverty in the northern region of Ghana. Research on Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(12), 18-30.
European Commission. (2012). ESF empowerment handbook: Learning network on empowerment and inclusion. Belfast: European Commission.
Firestone, S. (1972). The Dialectic of Sex. London, Paladin.
Flick, U. (2008). Managing quality in qualitative research. London: Sage Publications.
German, L. (1981). “Theories of Patriarchy.” International Socialism Journal 2(12) 36-39.
Ghana Demographic and Health Survey. (2008). Retrieved October 9, 2016, from http://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/SR172/SR172.pdf.
Ghana Statistical Svervice. (2014). Nanumba North District Analytical Report. Accessed on 14 October 2016 from www.statsghana.gov.gh
Goldberg, S. (1993). The inevitability of patriarchy. New York: William Morrow & Company, Inc.
Goody, J. (1970). Marriage Policy and incorporation in Northern Ghana. In From Tribe to Nation in Africa. Ronald Cohen and John Middleton, eds. Scranton, PA: Chandler Publishing Company.
Hancock, E. (1990). The Girl Within: Touchstone for Women's Identity. In Zweig, Connie (Ed) To Be A Woman: The Birth of the Conscious Feminine. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., 55-63.
Hennessy, R. (2002). “Reclaiming Marxist Feminism for a need-based sexual politics. The Socialist Feminist Project: A contemporary reader in theory and politics. N. Holmstrom. New York, Monthly Review Press.
Hey, V. (1989). A feminist exploration. In Hey, Valerie, Itzin, Catherine, Saunders, Lesley & Speakman, Mary Ann, (Eds), Hidden loss; Miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy London: The Women’s Press: p. 51-72.
Issahaku, P. A. (2012). Male Partner Violence against Women in Northern Ghana: Its Dimensions and Health Policy Implications (Doctoral dissertation, University of Toronto, 2012).
ISSER. (2016). Shakespeare Lives in Ghana. Roles, Representations and Perceptions of Women in Contemporary Ghanaian Society.
Johnson, A. (2005). The gender knot: Unraveling our patriarchal legacy. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Kathewera-Banda, M., Kamanga- Njikho, V., Malera, G., Mauluka, G., Mazinga, M. K., & Ndhlovu, S. (2011). Women’s access to land and household bargaining power: a comparative action research project in patrilineal and matrilineal societies in Malawi. Research Report for Women’s Legal Resource Centre (WOLREC).
Kvale, S., Brinkmann, S. et al. (2009). Det kvalitative forskningsintervju. Oslo, Gyldendal.
Leach, R. (1997). Manly, True and White: Masculine identity and Australian Socialism. The Politics of Identity in Australia. G. Stokes. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.
Lisle, L. (1999). Without Child: Challenging the Stigma of Childlessness. New York: Routledge.
Maasole, S. C. (2006). The Konkomba and their Neighbours from the pre-European period to 1914: A study in inter-ethnic relations in Northern Ghana. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
MacKinnon, C. (1987). Feminism Unmodified: Discourses on Life and Law. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1987.
MacKinnon, C. (1989). Towards a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1989.
Mahama, A. F. (2014). Effects of Empowerment of Women on Role Changes in Ghana: The Case of Nanumba North District.
Makama, G. A. (2013). Patriarchy and Gender Inequality in Nigeria: The Way Forward: European Scientific Journal June 2013 edition vol.9, No.17 ISSN: 1857–7881 (Print) e - ISSN 1857 7431.
Millett, K. (1970). Sexual Politics. London, Rupert Hart-Davis.
Mohammed, P. (2004). Unmasking masculinity and deconstructing patriarchy: problems and possibilities within feminist epistemology. In R. E. Reddock (Eds.), Interrogating Caribbean masculinities: theoretical and empirical analyses (pp. 38-67). University of the West Indies Press
Neema, M. (2015). Women's empowerment and decision-making at the household level: A case study of Ankore families in Uganda Tilburg: Tilburg University.
NNDA (2014). District Medium Term Plan, Bimbilla.
Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2001). Cultural Obstacles to Equal Representation. Journal of Democracy. 12(3), 126–140.
Nukunya, G. K. (2003). Tradition and change in Ghana: introduction to sociology. Second edition. Accra: Ghana Universities Press.
Siim, B. (1990). Towards a Feminist Rethinking of the Welfare State. The Political Interests of Gender: Developing Theory and Research with a Feminist Face. K. Jones and A. Jonasdottir. London, Sage: 160-186.
Strobel, M. (1982). African women. Signs, 8(1), 109-131.
Sultana, A. (2012) “Patriarchy and Women’s Subordination: A Theoretical Analysis”. The Arts Faculty Journal, 4(1), 18.
Swanborn, P. (2010). Case study research: What, why and how? (1st edition). London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Tait, D. (1961). The Konkomba of Northern Ghana. London: Published for the International African Institute and the University of Ghana by the Oxford University Press.
Tanye, M. (2008). Access and barriers to education for Ghanaian women and girls. Interchange, 39 (2), 167–184.
The Constitution of the Republic of Ghana 1992. Retrieved 3 February 2017, from http://www.judicial.gov.gh/constitution/chapter/chap_5.htm.
Tsikata, D. (1997). Gender equality and the state in Ghana: Some issues of policy and practice. In I. Ayesha & A. Sow (Eds.), Engendering African social sciences. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa (CODESRIA).
Tsikata, D. (2009). Affirmative Action and the Prospects for Gender Equality in Ghanaian Politics. Abantu, Women in Broadcasting.
Uchem R. N. and Ngwa, S. E. (2014). Subordination of Women in 21st century Africa: Cultural Sustainability or a New Slavery? Implications for Educational Development: Developing Country Studies, www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-607X (Paper) ISSN 2225-0565 (Online) Vol.4, No.24, 2014.
UNDP. (2012a). Women entity for gender equality and the empowerment of women: Making a difference in women’s lives. New York: UNDP.
Walby, S. (1990). Theorizing Patriarchy. Blackwell Publishers Ltd.: Oxford, UK and Cambridge USA.
Published
2022-12-24
How to Cite
Dery , D. A., Cuthbert, B. K., Nakojah, M. M., & Segbefia, S. K. (2022). PATRIARCHY AND WOMANHOOD: THE CASE OF THE KONKOMBA WOMAN OF THE NANUMBA NORTH MUCIPALITY IN THE NORTHERN REGION OF GHANA. African Journal of Emerging Issues, 4(13), 91 - 110. Retrieved from https://ajoeijournals.org/sys/index.php/ajoei/article/view/368
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