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4. The Iron Fist
- Johns Hopkins University Press
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c h a p t e r f o u r 䉬•䉬 The Iron Fist In Kenya, mothers of political prisoners went to the attorney general in 1992 to have him review their sons’ cases. They argued that their sons were simply advocating for a multiparty system, which was legal in 1991. Through the media, many of the women had learned about hunger strikes and about distributing pamphlets to bring attention to their cause. They did both. On March 2, the mothers , along with supporters, began to demonstrate in a public park against the government . This demonstration continued on March 3, but on that day, the police began to beat the women (Tibbetts 1994). The brutal remnants of authoritarian regimes during democratization processes pose a real threat to Africans. Africans in many countries experience severe hardships as well as persecution under authoritarian rule, and with democratization , the memories linger. In light of the threat of violence against women’s political actions, women’s responses in the early period of democratization were understandably limited. In Kenya, women only began to become more active in formal politics when Section 2a of the constitution allowed for the existence of multiparty elections (Nzomo 1998). In Cameroon, the government dissolved a women’s organization that attempted to organize a pro-democracy strike, and more autonomous organizations only began to emerge with the passing of an amendment in 1990 that allowed for the freedom of association (Adams 2003). In Zambia, after an amendment was passed to allow for multiparty elections, the Women’s Lobby, which formed to encourage women to become involved in formal politics, was denounced by the president of the Movement for Multiparty Democracy (MMD), and the Movement threatened to expel party members associated with the Lobby (Geisler 1995). In Ghana, women faced similar setbacks. In the first election in 1992, women’s organizations were not visibly involved in mobilizing women to vote, nor did they encourage women to stand for political positions. Even as civic associations , such as the Ghana Trade Union Congress (GTUC) and the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS), gathered momentum to place pressure on Rawlings and the Provisional National Defense Council (PNDC) to make the transition to democracy, women’s organizations were neither present nor vocal. This is not to say that no women were involved, since the GTUC and the NUGS included women. However, given the large presence of women’s organizations within Ghana, their absence from this process appears unusual. Members of women’s organizations did not start to actively engage in the formal political process until 1996. Inaction by women’s organizations was often tied to the fear created under Rawlings’s regime. The remnants of the authoritarian regime and the continued presence of the 31st December Women’s Movement neutralized the larger gendered system of autonomous women’s organizations. Women’s experience under the authoritarian regime a¤ected their participation in the democratization process. In this chapter, women’s slow and cautious participation in the transition to democracy in Ghana is explored. In particular, the role of women’s previous experiences under authoritarian regimes, women’s access (or lack thereof) to resources, and trust between and within autonomous women’s organizations are examined. authoritarian control Under the PNDC, Rawlings attempted to co-opt women to support his regime, while also creating a state of fear that would prevent opposition from citizens. When members of women’s organizations spoke with me about politics in relation to the transition to democracy, two primary themes emerged: (1) violence and (2) the role of the 31st December Women’s movement. Fear of the regime is understandable considering the violence tied to Rawlings’s succession to power. Rawlings targeted specific political and intellectual individuals and nationally broadcast their executions, which was meant to deter other individuals from following similar paths. These actions created and enforced the culture of silence in which citizens quickly learned not to speak out against Rawlings and the PNDC (Chazan 1991). Some women in Ghana were considered enemies of the state, which was reflected in the interviews. One woman explained: It is diªcult to have politics in this country at times, because normally, the government in power tries to victimize. You know, and that’s the case everywhere in Africa, they try t h e i r o n f i s t 57 [54.204.117.206] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 06:33 GMT) to victimize people. So, they think that being in...