It’s about time my feminist side
came out on this blog considering I’ve been here for 3 months now and haven’t
really written much about women’s roles in Ghana. This entry was sparked by a conference I
attended last week sponsored by the SRC Women’s Commission titled, “Ladies Hood
2011.” I wasn’t expecting anything in
particular (mainly because the posters weren’t very descriptive), but I thought
it would be a really interesting experience to see how these types of programs
go in a place like Ghana.
The conference began with a
“discussion” on whether abortion should be legalized or not in Ghana. I expected to hear the extreme religious
response on the matter, which I did: “Under no circumstances would God ever approve
of an abortion.” What I wasn’t
expecting, however, were the completely opposing opinions that weren’t
necessarily being equally represented, but were certainly present enough to
spark quite a heated debate!
There were the usual questions of
when a fetus is actually considered a human with rights, whether it should be a
woman’s choice to do what she wants with her own body, etc. A lot of women brought up the point that
women are already obtaining unsafe and unprofessional abortions, so why not
just provide a safe setting since they will continue to happen regardless of
legalization. One of the more
frustrating comments I heard was something along the lines of “women should
have the option of abortion in the case that there is no man to take care of
them.” (-___-)
Eventually, the speaker came over
with the microphone and asked the only 3 obrunis at the conference (Mariah and
Stephanie—2 other UC students—and me) what our thoughts were on the
matter. First, after awkwardly sharing
that I’m an atheist and literally having the facilitator gasp and walk away in
what seemed like absolute disgust, we explained how we didn’t think religion
was a relevant factor because it’s a social issue, not a religious one. Of course, that argument doesn’t exactly work
when you live in a place with no official separation of church and state…
I continued to explain my views and
how I believe that a woman’s body is her own and she has the right to do with
it what she wants and that a bundle of cells that has the potential to grow
into a human is about as human as sperm frantically trying to connect with an
ovary! A lot of women were cheering and
agreeing with me, and a lot were shaking their heads in disgust. A wonderfully juxtaposed reaction to a very
firm stance I’d say.
That discussion ended after
everyone started complaining since we were just going in circles and we
continued with a discussion of women having positions of power in the
workplace, politics, and society. On the
one hand, they recognized that this issue is largely due to gender
inequalities, but as the discussion continued and I heard what some of the
suggestions were, it made me even more frustrated. Women were saying that the problem lies in
the women who have attained power, but don’t know how to act. They “should maintain humility” instead of
“being bossy” because if they’re too controlling, men won’t respect them.
AAAAA!!!
Next, after introducing the guest
speakers at the high table, came a short poetry recitation and a performance by
a singer/talk show host.
Afterwards, there was an
informational presentation given by a medical doctor explaining STI’s and other
common female bodily functions/issues.
That was actually a really sad talk to sit through, especially after the
Q&A section. Women were asking
questions about their bodies that really reflected how little sexual health
education there is in the education system here. I understand that societies with such
traditional religious views have certain emphases in their education (i.e.
religion courses are typically mandatory), but every woman should have a strong
understanding of how her body works, what is “normal” and what she should be
concerned about. It is a huge disservice
to both men and women for this information to be omitted from the standard
curriculum.
The best part about this conference
was of course, THE FREE SHIRTS!! We got
these great shirts that say “I <3 my parents” and “I <3 my baby” that are
anti-abortion shirts, but I’m just excited to wear mine when I get back home
because I think they’re hysterical!
Quick shout out to the Vagina
Monologues Cast since this is a post completely dedicated to women! You ladies continually inspire me to be a
stronger woman. For any of my other
feminist friends out there, you should really consider auditioning for the show
this year. It will positively change
your life, plus, who doesn’t like talking about vaginas all the time?
