Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2012

Publisher

A:JPAS

Abstract

Contemporary African women are often cast as existing below the glass ceiling. African women who are perceived as having overcome this glass threshold are therefore seen and celebrated as exceptional. Against this background, this essay offers conceptual tools with which to examine the lives of historical and contemporary women in Ga traditional society of Ghana, living beyond the glass ceiling. Drawing a distinction between the role of women in the modern nation-state and traditional societies, this study asserts that unlike the situation in modern governance, structures and practices of Ga traditional societies have enabled Ga women to live beyond the glass ceiling. Acknowledging the non-static and dynamic evolution of Ga traditional society, this paper explores how Ga women exercise public and private power in Ga society.

Comments

The Journal of Pan African Studies works to become a beacon of light in the sphere of African world community studies and research, grounded in a trans-disciplinary open access scholarly peer-reviewed construct, simultaneously cognizant of the multilingualism of our audience, and the importance of universal access in cyberspace; regardless of geography, economic, social or cultural diversity.

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