Gender Studies in Ghana

Drawing from personal and programming experience, historical documentations and analytical sources, I have examined the various framings of GS to show that it embraces multiple meanings as ‘discipline,’ research, programmes and discourse. I have also engaged in a historical and reflective analysis of the evolution of GCS at three levels; global, continental and local/national to reveal that GS has a long discursive tradition that has been borne out of activism and scholarship. I have shown in particular that GS in all its forms is quite new in Ghana and has been driven on a developmentalist platform but has also engaged academic interests but also civil society, donor and state interests and actions. I have shown that GS within higher education was given legitimation by the Swedru Communiqué. However, not all HEIs have lived to the commitments of that accord. Some like UEW and UG have taken great strides in interpreting and implementing the Communique while others such as KNUST and UMAT have been slow. Yet, others like UDS and UCC has made considerable progress in their effort to implement it.

Specifically, on where we are, there is also a mix bag. The foregone analyses reveal that insofar as GS in Ghana is concerned currently we at the juncture of bridging policy and practice gaps, institutionalizing GS, being trapped in antiquated polemics, focused on essentialized universalism, persist in promoting Women’s Studies at the expense of other forms of GS, still lack hard core evidence, remain developmentalist in our persuasion, and still have to contend with traditionalistic apologetics.