Chapter 2. Wives, Children, and Intestate Succession in Ghana

Manuh, Takyiwaa

doi:10.9783/9780812200775.77

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Among the MoleDagbani, there is the belief that young parents are not necessarily the best people to bring up children (Oppong, 1981). In some areas of the country, such as among the Anlo Ewe and the Guan, couples may live with the husband's parents or live on their own (Nukunya, 1969(Nukunya, , 2003Assimeng 1981;Pellow & Chazan, 1982;Manuh, 1997).…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Household Nucleation, Dependency and Child Health Outcomes in Ghana

2014

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This study uses three key anthropometric measures of nutritional status among children (stunting, wasting and underweight) to explore the dual effects of household composition and dependency on nutritional outcomes of under-five children in Ghana. The objective is to examine changes in household living arrangements of under-five children to explore the interaction of dependency and nucleation on child health outcomes. The concept of nucleation refers to the changing structure and composition of household living arrangements, from highly extended with its associated socioeconomic system of production and reproduction, social behaviour and values, towards single-family households - especially the nuclear family, containing a husband and wife and their children alone. A negative relationship between levels of dependency, as measured by the number of children in the household, and child health outcomes is premised on the grounds that high dependency depletes resources, both tangible and intangible, to the disadvantage of young children. Data were drawn from the last four rounds of the Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys (GDHSs), from 1993 to 2008, for the first objective - to explore changes in household composition. For the second objective, the study used data from the 2008 GDHS. The results show that, over time, households in Ghana have been changing towards nucleation. The main finding is that in households with the same number of dependent children, in nucleated households children under age 5 have better health outcomes compared with children under age 5 in non-nucleated households. The results also indicate that the effect of dependency on child health outcomes is mediated by household nucleation and wealth status and that, as such, high levels of dependency do not necessarily translate into negative health outcomes for children under age 5, based on anthropometric measures.

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Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…For instance, a duo-local system has characterized living arrangements in the Ga/Adangme areas of Ghana (Assimeng, 1981;Pellow & Chazan, 1982;Manuh, 1997). Among the Ga/Adangme, married men and women could live in separate men's and women's households, rather than living together.…”

Section: Contextmentioning

confidence: 97%

Household Nucleation, Dependency and Child Health Outcomes in Ghana

2014

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“…Currently, very few women occupy upperechelon positions in the civil service. Such predominance of women in the highly volatile informal sector-marked by the unpredictability of earnings-and low-wage occupations, coupled with high female unemployment rates, contribute to the economic marginalization of women, many of whom must rely on husbands, common-law partners, boyfriends, or male relatives for material support or financial supplementation (Chao, 1999;Manuh, 1997;Pellow, 1978).…”

Section: The Status Of Women In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Polygyny, or marriages involving a husband and two or more wives, is a culturally accepted practice among many ethnic groups in Ghana (Manuh, 1997). Although attitudes are changing, for men, having multiple wives is still denotative of male power, prestige, and virility.…”

Section: The Status Of Women In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Witchcraft Accusations and Female Homicide Victimization in Contemporary Ghana

Adinkrah

2004

Violence Against Women

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The goal of this article is to enhance awareness of witchcraft-related femicides. In Ghana, stereotypes abound of elderly women as witches. In some instances, suspicions or accusations of witchcraft are followed by lethal or nonlethal assault of the supposed witch. This article examines witch beliefs in Ghana and analyzes 13 incidents of homicide committed against women accused of witchcraft during 1995 to 2001. The author presents a genderbased analysis of witchcraft accusations that contextualizes witch murders as a form of gender discrimination. The results indicate that appreciation of the social and cultural contexts, as well as the status of women in the society, is crucial in developing an understanding of witch-related femicides in Ghanaian society. Suggestions for reducing witchrelated violence in Ghana are offered.

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“…For instance, as the largest ethnic unit, the Akan ethnic group, follows the matrilineal descent system, whereas smaller ethnic groups, including the Ga-Adangbes identify with the patrilineal system (Ghana Statistical Service, 2010). For patrilineal groups, property and inheritance rights are passed through the father's line, but the matrilineal descent system transfers such rights through the mother's line (Benefo, Tsui, & De Graft Johnson, 1994;Lockwood, 1995;Manuh, 1997).…”

Section: Kinship and Ipv In Ghanamentioning

confidence: 99%

Kinship and Intimate Partner Violence Against Married Women in Ghana: A Qualitative Exploration

Sedziafa

Tenkorang

Owusu

2016

J Interpers Violence

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In African societies, kinship ties determine how women are socialized, their access to power and wealth, as well as custody of children, often considered important factors in married women's experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet studies that examine how kinship norms influence IPV are scant. Using in-depth interviews collected from women identifying with both matrilineal and patrilineal descent systems, we explored differences in Ghanaian women's experiences of IPV in both kin groups. Results show that while IPV occurs across matrilineal and patrilineal societies, all women in patrilineal societies narrated continuous pattern of emotional, physical, and sexual assault, and their retaliation to any type of violence almost always culminated in more experience of violent attacks and abandonment. In matrilineal societies, however, more than half of the women recounted frequent experiences of emotional violence, and physical violence occurred as isolated events resulting from common couple disagreements. Sexual violence against matrilineal women occurred as consented but unwanted sexual acts, but patrilineal women narrated experiencing violent emotional and physical attack with aggressive unconsented sexual intercourse. Contextualizing these findings within existing literature on IPV against women suggests that policies aimed at addressing widespread IPV in Ghanaian communities should appreciate the dynamics of kinship norms.

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Chapter 2. Wives, Children, and Intestate Succession in Ghana

Cited by 12 publications

References 0 publications

Household Nucleation, Dependency and Child Health Outcomes in Ghana

Household Nucleation, Dependency and Child Health Outcomes in Ghana

Witchcraft Accusations and Female Homicide Victimization in Contemporary Ghana

Kinship and Intimate Partner Violence Against Married Women in Ghana: A Qualitative Exploration

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