Gatekeeping girls’ access to education: an exploration of matrilineal relationships, gatekeepers, and contentions at the micro-household-level

Abstract

The lack of attention to micro-politics at the household-level makes us miss the gatekeeping strategies that family members at the micro household-level employ to enable, and or hinder education access for children, especially girls. In this paper, I draw on qualitative interviews and autobiographical narratives of 15 women from matrilineal societies to explore answers to the question: How did gatekeeping shape gendered pathways to education access for women born between 1917 and 1957? Examining this demography is essential as it addresses the often-overlooked education access dynamics among women born within this specific timeframe in education research. This paper makes the case that a complex web of gatekeeping systems regarding access to education existed at the micro household family-levels in Ghana. Particularly in matrilineal societies, maternal uncles, maternal grand uncles, and fathers collectively acted as gatekeepers regulating girls’ access to education. The findings underscore the role of cultural resources in facilitating men’s control over family finances, breadwinning roles, and decision-making processes, thereby acting as gatekeepers limiting girls’ access to education. Gatekeeping access created two pathways, non-access, and access with conditions. Access with conditions explain how girls were restricted to reading courses typical to their gender and attending schools of the gatekeeper’s choice. These gatekeeping practices shaped the education access and life outcomes of Ghana’s pioneering generation of educated women.