Friday- January 5th- Day 6- Woman in Ghana

Today we visited Fiona's Kitchen where we discussed the roles and expectations of women in Ghana with Bashiratu Kamal (Bash) and Fiona Morton. Bash is a journalist, an active feminist and employee with the Ghanaian Labor Union. Fiona is also an active feminist and she owns a very successful catering business. During the conversation, we discussed how the women in Ghana are heavily involved in the informal sector of the labor force where they make up more than 80% of the workforce. While there is also a female presence in the formal workforce, most are contract positions because organizations do not want to be responsible for reproductive rights (primarily granting maternity leave for new mothers). Continuing on female rights, we learned that Ghana does not have an affirmative action law. Some organizations have affirmative action rights, but the bill has been in parliament for over 60 years and has yet to pass. The national maternity leave is three months and to get this from your company, you need a note from your doctor that you have given birth. Additionally, there is no national paternity leave.

The national minimum wage is 14.88 cedis per day which equals about $1.50 a day. For context, a teacher makes about $200 a month, and a university professor makes about $500-$600 monthly. According to our speaker, there is "no pay gap between men and women" as a law requires men and women to be paid the same amount for the same position. However, after further discussion, we learned there is no visible pay gap, but there is a significant glass ceiling in the workplace. Men and women are given different employment opportunities/management levels; therefore, the pay gap can not be seen. In the past year, Ghana's economy has been very volatile, leading to individuals needing to take two or more jobs, and residents are expecting more uncertainty forthcoming. It certainly doesn't help that Ghana is currently facing 40% inflation.

Next, we discussed property ownership issues that affect women. For many years, there have been laws in place that when a married couple buys land, it is owned by "Mr. and Mrs. surname." This created problems of women not being entitled to the land in a divorce if the husband remarried and was able to argue there is a new "Mrs." Two years ago, there was a new land act passed that the wife's full name would be added to the property and any land acquired during the marriage would be owned by both parties (properties acquired before marriage would be considered the individual's). When discussing marriages, we talked about how in the past, the belief was that once a woman married, their life as an individual was done, and the marriage defined them. In this context, a woman could not continue her education once she was married or had a child. This thinking has changed in the past few years and now you will see pregnant and married women in university classrooms. Bash shared the difficulties of being a feminist with kids of her own at home. She actively teaches her own kids about the importance of women being as valuable as men and asserts the need to not have specific roles within the family. But when the children go to school, their textbooks assert "woman wash, cook, and clean and men go to work and pay school fees." Needless to say, Bash and her fellow feminists are pushing for more progressive textbooks for the public school system (currently, there are not standardized textbooks).

We learned the older women in the Ghanaian feminist movement did not want to use the term "feminist" as it had a bad reputation for being made up of prostitutes divorcees, and generally sad women. Today, the younger movement uses the term feminist loud and proud. They primarily use social media to share their messages, which brings both benefits and negatives but is overall a beneficial tactic. Three main coalitions make up the Ghanaian feminist movement: NETRIGHT, Domestic Violence Coalition, and the Women's Manifesto for Ghana. These three coalitions work together to fight and bring attention to issues around economic equality, labor market equality, job access equality, and domestic violence. The 2004 Women's Manifesto for Ghana is a political statement by Ghanaian women demanding rights and equality. This statement is online for everyone, including politicians, to see what women in Ghana demand.

Following the conversation, we had lunch that Fiona and her employees made. It featured jollof rice, fresh fish, glass noodles, barbecue chicken, salad, samosas, and couscous. We also enjoyed pineapple and orange juice boxes. After a debrief at the SIT program center, we rested to get ready for the Black Starline Festival headlining Chance the Rapper and other artists including T-Pain, Vic Mensa, and Jeremih. 

 ~Nicole Adams