‘Now If You Have Only Sons You Are Dead’: Migration, Gender, and Family Economy in Twentieth Century Northwestern Ghana
| Autor: | Gariba B. Abdul-Korah |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
Economic growth
media_common.quotation_subject Population Dynamics Geography Planning and Development Population Developing country Hierarchy Social Development Ghana Indigenous Interconnectedness Family economy Family Interpersonal Relations Sociology Social Change education media_common Transients and Migrants Family Characteristics education.field_of_study Internal migration Gender Identity Gender studies History 20th Century Household Work Socioeconomic Factors Inheritance Social structure |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Asian and African Studies. 46:390-403 |
| ISSN: | 1745-2538 0021-9096 |
| Popis: | This article explores the interconnectedness between labor migration, gender, and the family economy in northwestern Ghana in the 20th century. It focuses specifically on the Dagaaba of the Nadowli and Jirapa administrative districts of what is now the Upper West Region (UWR). It examines how the relationships between men and women in terms of roles, status, access to productive resources and inheritance, changed in tandem with broader changes in society in the 20th century; changes that over time produced enhanced value and elevated status for women in the family. These changes in gender relations are reflected increasingly in the belief among elderly men that ‘now if you have only sons, you are dead’. By focusing on the lived experiences of ordinary women and men in the migration process, it argues that even though indigenous social structures privileged men over women in almost all spheres of life, Dagaaba women were nonetheless significantly active in shaping the history of their communities and that gender relations in Dagaaba communities were not static — they changed over time and generation. This article contributes to the ongoing discussion of the internal migration phenomenon in West Africa, which has so far attracted scant historical analysis. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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