Notes
Notes 䉬•䉬 chapter 1: reclaiming power 1. Across sub-Saharan Africa, many countries have experienced fits and starts of democratic processes. However, the recent wave of democracy has, for the most part, endured for the longest period of time. 2. One exception is Chile, when the wife of Pinochet took over the Centros de Madres. However, in this instance the membership declined, and Pinochet’s wife encouraged women to promote the values of the New Chile through their roles as mothers, which backfired (Chuchryk 1989; Safa 1990). chapter 2: queenmothers, colonization, and the struggle for legitimacy 1. I acknowledge Oyewumi’s (1997) argument that the idea of gender as an organizational structure may have been implemented with colonization and may thus continue to be reified through academic discourse. As seen in Chapter 1, the political systems that women were involved in prior to colonization appear, for the most part, to be complementary in terms of women and men—and not in opposition. This supports her argument. For the purposes of this book, examining women’s mobilization (which is what it has now become ) must be explored in relation to previous known gendered patterns. Specifically, I seek to answer the question: How has women’s political mobilization as we see it today across sub-Saharan Africa come about? What factors in the past influenced current patterns? chapter 3: democracy in perspective 1. Of course, as presented in Chapter 1, scholars are now engaging the democratization process in sub-Saharan Africa. However, the literature is not as expansive as that on Eastern Europe and Latin America. 2. An exception is in Kenya, where the leader of the largest women’s organization, Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, claimed in 1975 that women’s place was in the home; however, this contradicted women’s reality of working in agriculture, trading, and other economically productive activities (Staudt 1986). 3. Although there may be more countries that had state-run women’s organizations, the countries mentioned in this book are Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Zambia. chapter 4: the iron fist 1. When Rawlings staged his coup in 1981, he claimed it was a revolution. When the respondent stated that the 31st December Women’s Movement was revolutionary, she was arguing that it was tied to the PNDC. 2. Please note that trokosi is only practiced among the Ewe, one of many ethnic groups in Ghana. The number of girls involved in the trokosi practice is estimated at approximately 4000. 3. From the beginning of independence, Ghanaians have attempted to avoid ethnic tensions . The two most prominent parties today—the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress—have supporters from all ethnic groups. Although Ashantis are the primary supporters of the NPP and Ewes are the primary supporters of the NDC, there is plenty of overlap. When there are political debates, the divides are based primarily on party allegiances rather than ethnic di¤erences. Most Ghanaians recognize the destruction that civil wars have brought upon their neighbors, and in casual conversations many will intimate that they have no intention of following suit. There have been some ethnic conflicts in Northern Ghana, however, this has never led to a full-fledged civil war, and the conflicts are generally relatively short-lived. The primary ethnic groups include the Akan (45.3% of the total population of Ghana, inclusive of the Ashanti), the Ewe (11.7% of the total population of Ghana), and the Ga-Dangme (7.8%) in southern Ghana. The predominant ethnic group in northern Ghana is the Mole-Dagbon (15.2%). chapter 5: capturing democracy 1. The change was also apparent to me as I was conducting my research. When I first started the interview process in 1997, most of the respondents were hesitant to meet with me. If I mentioned the word politics, they became very defensive. When I returned in 1999, the women who I spoke with were very assertive and forthcoming. The change in attitude may partly be due to the fact that the women knew who I was and recognized that I was returning to Ghana. However, some of the women I interviewed did not know me, and they still displayed confidence that I had not previously seen. Nonpartisan political topics were no longer taboo to the same degree. Many respondents spoke openly against Rawlings and his government and did not fear any repercussions. This was quite di¤erent from the responses I encountered in 1997...
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