Contested perspectives of ‘marvel’ and ‘mockery’ in disability and sport: Accra, Ghana

Bourgeois, Aude

doi:10.1080/17430437.2011.614781

Cited by 6 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…In contrast, Reynolds supervised interviews with Ghanaians with disability, but there were five informants and the interviews were carried out by foreign students who were unfamiliar with Ghanaian languages and culture. On this issue, it is interesting that two of the weaker articles were written by foreign researchers with no Ghanaian co-authors (Botts and Evans, and Reynolds), and only one other article did not have a Ghanaian lead or co-author (Bourgeois, 2011). It should also be pointed out that Kassah's other work is much stronger, especially in its central focus on voices of persons with disability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Human Rights: Most of the articles mention human rights, at least in passing. Eleven place human rights at the forefront (Reynolds, 2010;Naami, 2011;Kassah, 2012;Baffoe, 2013;Naami 2014;Mprah, 2014;Naami, 2015;Sackey, 2015;Ganle et al, 2016;Geurts and Komabu-Pomeyie, 2016) and ten mention human rights briefly in their introduction or in a general discussion of rights (Kassah, 1998(Kassah, , 2008Botts, 2010;Bourgeois, 2011;Tijm et al 2011;Mahama, 2012;Kassah, 2014;Badu et al, 2016;Opoku et al, 2016). Most of these articles evaluate the potential of disability rights legislation for improving the lives of persons with disability, with four offering a positive view of Ghana's disability legislation (Reynolds, 2010;Baffoe, 2013;Sackey, 2015;Ganle et al, 2016) and the rest being more critical.…”

Section: Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Others have found that the worst pejorative language is used more against women than men (Mahama, 2013). Bourgeois (2011) complicates the picture, however, by observing that men with physical disabilities are "doubly bound," because they are often judged according to standards of hegemonic masculinity that are difficult to achieve due to the limitations of their bodies. Mock et al (2008) also point out the complex nature of disability stigma in their finding that women without disability, who represent the vast majority of caregivers, are affected negatively by disabilitycausing injuries to family members.…”

Section: Causes Of Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical Disability, Rights and Stigma in Ghana: A Review of Literature

Grischow

Mfoafo-M’Carthy

Vermeyden

et al. 2019

DCID

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Purpose: This is a survey of peer-reviewed articles focussed on the causes and consequences of stigma towards persons with physical disability in Ghana.Method: After a systematic search of the online databases EBSCOhost, ProQuest, PubMEd and Web of Science for peer-reviewed articles on disability in Ghana, 26 articles were chosen for critical review. The three main selection criteria were: the articles had to be peer-reviewed, they had to be based on interviews with Ghanaians in the field, and they had to discuss stigma and human rights. For analysis, the content of the articles was grouped under two sections: major themes (human rights, causes of stigma, consequences of stigma) and policy recommendations (economics, medical services/healthcare, affirmative action, attitudes and awareness-raising, inclusion of cultural beliefs).Results: This review found that most of the studies attribute stigma to negative attitudes towards Ghanaians with disability, and many highlight beliefs among Ghanaians that disability is caused by spiritual and supernatural forces. The consequences, according to most authors, are social, economic and political exclusion. Policy recommendations include improving government policy, increasing funding for disability programmes, changing public attitudes, and paying attention to Ghanaian culture and tradition in designing disability interventions. While these are valid points, the authors of this paper are of the opinion that the literature also suffers from lack of a deep understanding of the historical and socio-cultural roots of supernatural beliefs in Ghana. Conclusion: The 26 studies discussed in this review show that since 2006 very good work has been produced on disability in Ghana, especially by Ghanaian disability scholars. It is hypothesised, however, that a full understanding of disability and stigma in Ghana must be based on deeper research into the roots of the beliefs that drive stigma. Future work therefore should focus on deepening the analysis of cultural beliefs towards disability in Ghana, in order to understand fully the roots of culturally-based disability stigma. More research into the economic causes and consequences of disability is also recommended, without which a full analysis of cultural stigma will not be possible.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Themesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Causes Of Stigmamentioning

confidence: 99%

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Physical Disability, Rights and Stigma in Ghana: A Review of Literature

Grischow

Mfoafo-M’Carthy

Vermeyden

et al. 2019

DCID

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“…For instance, Bourgeois' (2011) study on self-activism through sports demonstrates an interesting and effective strategy used by athletes with disability to fight for recognition of their humanity. In her interviews, Bourgeois (2011) found that disabled Ghanaians use sports to demonstrate their abilities in the public arena, thereby earning respect for their talents and reducing stigma. Positive attitudes toward the athletes carry over into daily life, as outsiders notice that the PWDs are capable of completing "regular" activities and tasks.…”

Section: Current State Of Disability Rightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, people are more willing to speak and interact with PWDs. Individuals with disabilities self-advocate for their rights, resisting oppressive attitudes and promoting social inclusion (Bourgeois, 2011). As a result, sports become a vehicle for political activism surrounding disability rights in Ghana.…”

Section: Current State Of Disability Rightsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cloak of Invisibility: A Literature Review of Physical Disability in Ghana

2020

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This literature review surveys the state of current scholarship on physical disability in Ghana. The intention is to identify major themes and opinions relating to the challenges faced by Ghanaians with physical disabilities. After an extensive literature review, the authors selected 21 articles for inclusion based on the criteria that they had to focus on physical disability in a Ghanaian setting. Reviewing the articles revealed that most scholars have focused on the pervasive oppression of Ghanaians with physical disabilities. Six major topic areas emerged, including the experience of the disability rights movement from the 1990s to the present, the public perception of people with physical disabilities, the issue of families and abuse, the rights to education, challenges around employment and finances, and health care for disabled Ghanaians. This literature review presents these topics, discusses their implications, and makes suggestions for further research and action to improve human rights for Ghanaians with physical disabilities.

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