Adam Bawa Yussif Tamale Technical University Box 3 … Bawa Yussif Tamale Technical University, Box...
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AFRICA DEVELOPMENT AND RESOURCES RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ADRRI) JOURNAL
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ISSN-L: 2343-6662 VOL. 26, No. 6(4), April, 2017
Women Empowerment and the Role of Queen Mothers in the Bole Traditional Area
Adam Bawa Yussif
Tamale Technical University, Box 3 ER, Tamale. Ghana, West Africa.
Email: [email protected]
Available Online: 30th April, 2017
URL: https://www.journals.adrri.org/
[Cite article as: Adam, B. Y. (2017). Women Empowerment and the Role of Queen Mothers in the Bole
Traditional Area. Africa Development and Resources Research Institute Journal, Ghana: Vol. 26, No. 6(4), Pp. 33-46,
ISSN-L: 2343-6662, 30thApril, 2017.]
Abstract
The study assessed the role of queen mothers in women empowerment in the Bole traditional area. The
study looked at issues such as the level of women’s participation on matters of interest to the Bole
traditional area, the constitution of women in leadership position, the impact made by queen mothers in
promoting women empowerment drive in the Bole traditional area. The study also examined the
empowerment strategies adopted by queen mothers and women empowerment issues in the Bole
Traditional Area. The methods used in data collection included questionnaires, interviews and
conversation with key informants. Out of a population of 18 queen mothers, and 102 chiefs, a sample size
of 32 was selected. Out of the 32, there were 15 queen mothers, 4 chiefs, 6 officials from the district
assembly and 4 key informants. The study revealed among others that, queen mothers have been able to
mobilize women to participate in anti-social empowerment programs, in communal labour, farming,
construction works, organization of festivals and funerals. It also revealed that civic education aimed at
sensitizing women and increasing their assertiveness to participate in the local governance, improved
their health status. Economic activities such as livelihood strategies were also carried out by women. On
education, the study found a high rate of illiteracy among women in the area and young girls are now
encouraged to enroll and stay in school. The study makes valuable recommendations in the end aimed at
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empowering queen mothers as well as other women leaders in the area, so as to improve the lives of
women in general.
Key Words: Empowerment, Queen Mothers, Traditional, Institution, Governance
INTRODUCTION
Women’s position in the socio-economic set up in our societies, particularly the tradition
African society, has been compromised since the colonial era. This has denied the democratic
society of women’s invaluable representation on matters affecting our communities. Although
some women such as Indira Ghandi of India, Benazi Bhutto of Pakistan, Madam Acquino of
Philippines, Margaret Thatcher of Britain and the most recent first female German Chancellor
Angela Merkel have even become politically successful to rule their home countries, so many
women all over the world are still not in their rightful positions ( Batliwala, 2014).
To reverse this unfortunate situation, gender equality programmes in recent times have been a
major priority of democratic nations. Also, several women groups and organizations are coming
up daily to demand for equal participation of gender in all issues that involve all members of
the society. Many conferences have been held by the United Nations on regular basis in
advocacy for women’s rights, duties and positions in the society; and these moves are now
beginning to yield fruitful results. For instance, the United Nations Agenda 21 stressed the need
for women to be involved in all aspects of community development ranging from socio-
economic to environmental issues (Kabeer, 2005). The need is not just as a result of their
dominations in the world’s human population, but also due to the need to mobilize the entire
human resources for the realization of effective national participation and development (Ajayi
and Otuya, 2006).
In the 21st century, the focus of town planning has been oriented to factor in the participation of
women in the planning process so as to make planning an effective tool for governments and
local authorities to achieve sustainable development at the national, regional and local levels
(UN Habitat, 2011). The UN, recognized women’s contribution to community planning and
development as essential since their disengagement from the development process often stifles
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development in the society. It is keenly noted in many developing countries that community
development projects cover the provision of a wide range of social amenities that most
communities lack such as roads, school infrastructure, clinics, electricity, pipe-borne water,
market centers, and other social infrastructure. These are the basic issues affecting the lives of
women, yet they do not form the core of the decision making in matters relating to these
facilities.
In Ghana, females form 51% of the estimated 26million Ghanaian population (Ghana Statistical
service, 2014). This means that women are numerically crucial as far as labour is concerned and
in fact, should have a considerable stake in the country’s decision making processes, and across
the various divides of social, economic, political, moral and organizational leadership among
others. For this reason, various stakeholders such as the Ministry of Women and Children and
Social Protection, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), the media, as well as the queen
mothers have been considered as most influential, as far as the involvement of women in
decision-making is concerned.
The Government of Ghana admitted that women’s participation in governance has been very
low, right from the traditional, district, and to the central government level. This acknowledges
the fact that women’s empowerment is essential for the socio-economic and political decisions
of the country. Yet female participation in many settings is virtually non-existent. In addition,
finding a woman in a leadership position has always been a thing of “surprise” or “new” due to
the general mentality of many people and the psyche of the women themselves. Women,
particularly in many African countries including Ghana, simply become victims of gender
policy bias; and this goes to undermine the pride of womanhood (Gibson, 2010). In Ghana,
female traditional leaders and for that matter queen mothers play significant roles in the
traditional setup of some societies. According to Odotei and Awedoba (2006), the chieftaincy
system which serves as the basis of traditional political religious and to some extent economic
authority is vested in chiefs, queen mothers, priests, religious practitioners and other traditional
functionaries in Ghanaian communities. Queen mothers in Ghana are recognized as co-rulers in
the traditional political system with joint responsibility with the king or chiefs to run the affairs
of their communities. In a situation of a sudden death of a chief, the queen mother assumes full
control of central authority to govern her community (Gibson, 2010).
The role of the queen mother makes them important agents in the planning and development of
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their communities. In the field of development studies, it has long been recognized that
traditional institutions have a lot to contribute to the development of the society. Most
especially, the mothers have a very crucial role to play, as far as women empowerment is
concerned (Ajayi and Otuya, 2009). People in the northern part of Ghana have very strong
traditional values, and the region is one of the areas with many traditional settings. The Gonjas
are among the major ethnic groups in the northern region, with five (5) traditional areas
(Brukum, 1997).The Bole Traditional Area of Gonjaland is particularly noted as one of the
largest in the northern region, covering the three administrative districts of Bole, Sawla and
Tuna-Kalba. As the largest, the Bole traditional area has eighteen (18) queen mothers (ibid,
1997). The recent developments, such as the UN, World Bank and NGO’s advocacies, as well as
government’s agenda on women empowerment, have placed a very important role on many
stakeholders, especially the queen mothers (Gyimah, 2008).
Over the recent decades, Ghana as a nation has been doing pragmatically well to establish,
maintain and develop efficient and effective leadership systems. By this, it is essential that the
citizens are given commensurate powers, and this makes empowerment an inseparable quality,
in as far as gender balance issues are concerned (Amu, 2005). However, Gonjaland women are
underrepresented in leading positions such as elected offices, the civil service, the private sector
or academia despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change. Lack of opportunities
for women and low level of education is very common among women in the northern region
(ibid, 2005).
Indeed, the role of the queen mother as a traditional leader in ensuring the enforcement of
gender equality is of paramount significance to women’s empowerment. However, little is done
in the country in this current democratic dispensation to assess the role queen mothers play,
particularly in women empowerment, and the Bole Traditional Area is a typical example of this.
It is therefore essential that a study be conducted on the contribution of queen mothers to
women empowerment in the Bole Traditional Area.
It is also clear that to ensure women empowerment some associated concerns will have to be
addressed in the traditional areas. This may include delegation of authority, girl-child education
and recognition of women as equally fit for the political offices in the country (ibid, 2005). In
Ghana, it is yet to be established whether the number of traditional localities strictly applying
these measures as a means to enhance the participation of women as the larger group. What is
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commonly known however is that, even as at the year 2014, the government of Ghana could
only involve few women in taking national decisions (ibid, 2005). The situation is not anything
different in the traditional areas, and not even the Bole Traditional Area is an exception, in as
far as the adoption of these women empowerment measures are concerned.
The role of queen mothers is not wiped out by the common laws in the socio-economic
development of any state. These mothers are agents of change, particularly in empowering
women and hence, achieving the women empowerment agenda. Consequently, the
international community, in recent times, attaches so much importance to the need for closing
gender disparity gaps (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2005). It is for this reason that this research
was conducted on the role of queen mothers in women empowerment, using a typical case of
the Bole Traditional Area in the northern region of Ghana.
METHODOLOGY
Data Collection Methods
The study used both qualitative and quantitative methods in the collection of data. Interviews
with the aid of question guides were used to collect data from uneducated respondents and
self-administered questionnaire for the educated ones. This gave the researcher the opportunity
to meet face-to-face with the respondents and to interact with them. The questionnaire were
administered to a purposive sample of 32 consisting of fifteen (15) out of the 18 queen mothers,
four (chiefs), and six (6) officials of the two district assemblies in the traditional area. Prior to
field administration, the questionnaire was examined by two (2) professional researchers and
the final instrument was then pretested on five (5) queen mothers and chiefs from the Damongo
Traditional Area. Data collection lasted for approximately one (1) month.
Sample Techniques
Due to the clearly specific nature of this study, the research identified purposive non-
probability technique as most suitable for determining the stipulated sample size. This
technique was used on all the sample categories including queen mothers, chiefs, and officials
from the district assemblies.
Sample Characteristics
The study involved three categories of respondents consisting of queen mothers (60%), chiefs
(16%) and district assembly officials (24%). The typical respondent was 54 years and has been in
that position for 10 years.
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FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
Composition of Traditional Leadership in the Bole Traditional Area
Traditional leadership in the Bole Traditional Area consists of chiefs and queen mothers of Bole,
Sawla, Tuna and Kalba. The number of chiefs far outnumbers that of the queen mothers. Out of
one hundred and twenty (120) titles, only eighteen (18) titles, representing 15% were queen
mothers (As shown in Table 1) who sometimes play complementary roles to the chiefs in
addition to their main roles. This means that queen mothers form only a fraction when
considered outside this sample range.
Table 1: Composition of Traditional Leadership in Bole Traditional Area
VARIABLE FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
Chiefs 102 85%
Queen Mothers 18 15%
Cumulative 120 100%
Literacy and Occupation
Women Empowerment Strategies in the Bole Traditional Area
Queen mothers in recent time play diverse roles in their communities. In addition to serving as
counsels to chiefs and elders of societies, Queen mothers in the Bole Traditional Area also
mediate and participate in negotiations on issues important to the people in general and those
that particularly affect women and children directly. According to Kabeer (2005), the influence
of globalization and women empowerment also may have been compelling societies to strive to
find alternative ways and mechanisms to increase development potentials.
Social Empowerment
Mobilizing community labor to undertake community programmes that benefit the entirety of
the whole community is of utmost interest to the queen mothers. In the Bole Traditional Area,
queen mothers have been able to mobilize 62% of women to participate in community labour.
Most widely seen is the mobilization of other women to embark on activities such as farming,
construction works, organization of festival and funerals. Not only this, but also the queen
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mothers organize community education on important aspects of life of women in their
communities. Some of these include civic education aimed at sensitizing women and increasing
their assertiveness to participate in the in the local governance, improve their health status and
to lead in developmental projects in their area. This affirms the finding of Gibson (2010) that
queen mothers are recognized as co-rulers in the traditional political system.
In addition to this, it is meant to ensure that their views are represented in the implementation
of programmes and policies. The education or training is also geared towards the acquisition of
leadership and public speaking skills to enhance their communicative competence against the
abuse of women’s rights and their perpetrators.
Economic Empowerment
As the traditional role of women takes a turning urge in modern Ghanaian societies from
household keeping to external economic activities, the queen mothers have been able to assist in
the economic empowerment of women in the tradition area. The major economic activities
identified were shea butter processing, bee keeping, cashew plantation, training on
bookkeeping sills, family life education, entrepreneurship skills, Pito Brewing, batik tie-and-
dye, soap making among others geared towards raising income levels and building upon their
capacity to support their families. They also assist women with their leadership authority to
embark on financial activities such as savings, mobilization, loan acquisitions and disbursement
and repayment of loans.
Education
The high illiteracy rate, particularly among women in the Bole Traditional Area, has been a
necessitating factor for a number of educative programmes, such as the human rights, gender
issues, sex education, opportunities reserved for women, and many other national issues. it is
also indicated that 52% of women in the traditional area are educated on such issues. More girls
drop out of school at all levels of education as compared to their male counterparts. This
significantly affects even gender relations as well as how women eventually assert themselves
in relation to their male counterparts. This is somewhat in sync with Bravo-Baumann’ definition
of gender relations as ways in which a culture or society defines the rights, responsibilities, as
well as the identities of men and women in relation to one another (Bravo-Baumann, 2000).
Factors such as poverty, early marriage and teenage pregnancy prevent females from
continuing their education to the tertiary level in the area. Even where dropouts enter
apprenticeship, they have narrow range of opportunities mainly sewing, hairdressing and
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catering.
Health
In the Bole Traditional Area, women traditional leaders have been able to make use of the
training received from World Vision and Ministry of Health in improving health status in terms
of reduction of infant mortality and maternal mortality, eating nutritious food and the use of
insecticide mosquito net and attending antenatal and post natal clinic, which are sensitive
indicators of human development, is a positive concern. Also, women are educated on how to
have a comprehensive affordable NHIS and quality health care. However, this attracts only 42%
of women in the Bole Traditional Area.
Political Role of Women Leaders
The role played by women leaders, politically, in the Bole Traditional Area is based on both
achievements and ascription. The queen mothers meet with women in the communities on
discussion and ceremonies organized for the upliftment of women, particularly, in matters of
development and political positions. This political role is spearheaded by the only highly
educated Queen Mother and public servant, the leading mother, who serves as a model to
women in the traditional area, as far as women empowerment is concerned. There is however
only little success, as a percentage as low as 6% of women in the Bole Traditional Area are in
positions of governance. This was observed right from the unit committee, through local
governance to national politics.
The Strategic Programmes in Brief
The strategy programmes of the Queen Mothers on women empowerment in the Bole
Traditional Area during the search survey captured 68% of women into the social activities such
as communal and women groups In respect of the role of women empowerment to economic
programmes, 36% presented activities such as income generating activities and credit facilities,
as well as women in agriculture. Also, with regard to sensitization programmes, 52% of the
women were captured in community participation and decision making; 42% of the women
captured on health programmes such as maternal health, child care, malaria control and sex
education; and only 6% in the political categorization. Further details of this discussion are
contained in Table.
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Variables Women Empowerment Roles
Social Economic Sensitization Health Politics
Resp. (Per Av. Of 50 workers) (y) (x) (y) (x) (y) (x) (y) (x) (y) (x)
Percentage (%) 68 32 36 64 52 48 42 58 6 94
Cumulative Percentage (%) 100 100 100 100 100
Source: Field Study (2014)
The standard of living of women
The standard of living moves with improvement of the welfare of the women. Before the
welfare of women would increase or improve, there is the need to earn a salary or benefit from
the income they generate from their livelihood activities to enable them afford basic things for
their families. Paying school fees and getting three square meals was a problem. This actually
created socio-economic problems for Queen Mothers in their role to empower women in the
Bole Traditional Area.
Women Empowerment Groups in Livelihood Activities
After benefiting from women empowerment, there were revelations that came from livelihood
activities. The activities were shea butter processing, soap making, batik-tie-and-dye, bee
keeping, cashew plantation and petty trading. According to the research, 25 groups are into
shea butter processing which represented 14.2% of women in livelihood activities. Soap making
has 20 women groups and the livelihood activities represented 11.36%. 15 women group were
into batik-tie-and-dye with a percentage of 8.5 in 2% livelihood activities. Cashew plantation
recorded 11 groups representing 6.25% of livelihood activities and finally, petty trading had the
highest number of group with 95 women groups in the Bole Traditional Area and livelihood
activities with 53.98%. Bee keeping had the lowest number of group. This livelihood activity
recorded only 10 groups which represented 5.68%.
The impact of Queen Mothers’ role on the Women Empowerment Drive
The impact of the Queen Mothers on the improvement of the quality of the socio-economic lives
of women in the Bole Tradition Area is enormously significant. The issues identified basically
comprise girl-child education, domestic violence, sanitation, literacy as well as poverty. It was
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noted that over the past three years, 56% of women have their wards enrolled in school as
against 34% previously, giving a net of 24%; domestic violence rate has been drastically reduced
from 36% to 18%, also giving a net of 18%; sanitation and its related health condition improved
from 38% to 46%, a net of 8% with the sensitization programmes. The illiteracy rate among
women over the past three years has reduced from 88% to 72%, also a net of 4%; and with the
economic activities, poverty rate among women in the traditional area has been reduced from
72% to 66%, representing a net value of 6%. Further details are provided on the Figure below.
Challenges faced by Queen Mothers on the Women Empowerment Drive
The study found that Queen Mothers in the Bole Traditional Area were faced with numerous
challenges in the quest to improve women empowerment in their respective communities.
Some of the challenges identified include incompatibility of government policies with the
programmes of Queen Mothers, financial constraints, lack of cooperation among stakeholders,
interference from some other interest groups, and insufficient logistics. The major challenge was
Girl-Child Education
76%
Domestic Violence
36% - 18%
Sanitation
38% - 46%
Literacy
72% - 66%
Poverty
88% - 72%
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financial constraints, as indicated by 61.11% and 60% of the Queen Mothers and the other
respondents respectively. Logistical challenge was also indicated by 16.66% of the Queen
Mothers, and 10% of the other respondents, followed by lack of cooperation among
stakeholders, also responded to by 11.11% and 14% of the Queen Mothers and the other
respondents respectively. This confirms Eagly and Carli’s (2001) finding that financial
constraints have been the major challenge of queen mothers in promoting women
empowerment. The incompatibility of government policies with women empowerment
programmes, and interference by some other interest groups were each indicated by the Queen
Mothers at 5.56%, as well as the other respondents, also 10% and 6% respectively.
Identified Challenges
Incompatibilit
y
Financial
Constraints
Lack of
Cooperatio
n
Interferenc
e
Inad.
Logistics
Cum.
Frequency
(QM)
1 11 2 1 3 18
Percentage 5.56 61.11 11.11 5.56 16.66 100
Frequency
(Others)
5 30 7 3 5 50
Percentage 10 60 14 6 10 100
Source: Field Study (2014)
Relevant Suggestions
The respondents also made some relevant suggestion towards enhancing effective contribution
on women empowerment in the Bole Traditional Area. Respondents believe that there is the
need to institute long term pro-women programmes at the district levels, government should
consider women empowerment issues as one of its crucial budget item, government should
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provide financial support to Queen Mothers, and there is the need for the district assemblies to
also take some initiatives towards supporting the Queen Mothers as main agents of women
empowerment in the traditional area. Respondents also suggested that chiefs in the traditional
area should play complementary roles in women empowerment agenda and that there need for
clear and accessible national platforms purposely directed towards addressing women’s
CONCLUSIONS
As a result of the findings, it is justifiable to conclude that queen mothers constituted only a
small fraction of the entire cabinet leadership and the chieftaincy institution of the Bole
Traditional Area. The contribution expected of the queen mothers towards women
empowerment is quite formidable, considering the high rate of female population coupled with
high illiteracy rate in Ghana. They are mainly within the informal sector and only an average of
the women in the area patronized the strategic programme of activities led by the queen
mothers, and these were basically the socio-economic related activities. The queen mother’s
concept on women empowerment would make much impact if attention was given to their
activities in the Bole Traditional Area and the northern region at large. Apart from illiteracy,
queen mothers in the area are also financially challenged.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The findings of the study suggest that the overall performance of Queen Mothers in Bole
Traditional Area has not achieved its intended purpose. Based on this, the research makes the
following recommendations on women empowerment in the Bole Traditional Area.
There is the need to institute long term pro-women programmes at the district levels. The
government of Ghana can develop sustainable programmes for women and women leaders
with enough funds mainly on women empowerment by involving Queen Mothers to take
active programs for development of the districts. The Bole community can also come up with
various innovations like self-help initiatives to assist the efforts of queen mother in the area.
The district assembly should consider women empowerment issues as one of its crucial budget
item. The medium term development plan and the composite budget of the district assemblies
normally captures gender issues for district developmental projects but little attention is paid to
women programmes. Women should be seen as vulnerable and much attention given to them.
Government could support Queen Mothers financially by making provision for funds meant for
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their use on pro-women programmes. This will help them carry out women empowerment
activities in their local areas.
Finally, the district assemblies should take up deliberate initiative towards supporting the
Queen Mothers as agents of women empowerment in the traditional areas. The district
assemblies serve as agents of government at the grass root levels for decentralization and
developmental programmes.
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