International Journal of Gender & Women's Studies

Social And Cultural Perceptions on Women’s Education and Physical Embodiment on Their Ability to Wield Power over Men: the Yendi Experience in Northern Ghana
Emmanuel Nyamekye (PhD), Sarah Yarney (Ms)

Abstract
Distinctive factors of social and cultural life in northern Ghana impinge on or constrain both females and males in their quest for educational empowerment. These social and cultural restrictions create disparities in opportunities for women and men to become equal players in the scheme of things.Cultural practices endorsed by religious principles seem to suggest that women have limited scope to enrol for education beyond a certainlevel. The main reason is that girls’ behaviour and social movements are closely monitored by male kin, who are also responsible for their financial provisions.Nevertheless, it is believed that women in northern Ghana wield a considerable degree of domestic power despite hegemonic gender ideologies, especially those professing to reflect the Islamic principles and practices that highlight women’s subordination and practices that affect girls and/or women’s pursuit of higher education. Some tenets of Islam, like the hijab (domestic seclusion), inhibit women’s freedom of movement, and this considerably affects women’s involvement in educational activities. The point is made that women, without any formal education can utilise several other non-material factors to ensure better terms in gender-based relationships and these factor have been explored in this study.

Full Text: PDF      DOI: 10.15640/ijgws.v3n2a13