{"id":26192,"date":"2021-07-26T12:29:21","date_gmt":"2021-07-26T12:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinegh.com\/?p=26192"},"modified":"2021-07-26T12:29:21","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T12:29:21","slug":"young-muslim-women-in-ghana-feel-stereotyped-and-judged-why-it-matters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kumasionlinetv.com\/?p=26192","title":{"rendered":"Young Muslim women in Ghana feel stereotyped and judged: why it matters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Since the 9\/11 attack on the World Trade Centre in New York, western media<\/a> have consistently questioned whether being Muslim sits well with the ideals of democratic citizenship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young Muslim males are often demonised as potential terrorists and female Muslims are singled out for critique for their dress. In France, for example, veiled Muslim women<\/a> are often vilified for the explicit demonstration of their religion and failing to embrace \u201csecular\u201d, \u201crepublican\u201d values. Such exclusionary practices risk alienating young Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These na\u00efve stereotypes provoked us to explore<\/a> perspectives of national and religious identity in the Muslim-minority context of southern Ghana. We asked young Ghanaians what their national and religious identities meant to them, how they saw them in relation to each other, and how gender was relevant to both.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had discussions with separate groups of young males and females in higher education and senior high school. What they told us about their experiences suggests that the curriculum should be reformed to address gender and religious biases. This would mean not only changing the content of what\u2019s taught but also how gender is enacted in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Islam in Ghana<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Ghana has been a republican secular democracy<\/a> since gaining independence from Britain in 1957<\/a>. Following periods of instability and military rule<\/a>, democratic government has prevailed over several successive political rotations. Following missionary activity during colonial times, most Ghanaians in the south<\/a> are Christian. Islam is the dominant religion in the north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Largely because of colonial expansion of commerce<\/a> and western education in coastal regions, poverty levels have been consistently higher in the north than the south, and education outcomes are lower. The Muslim population<\/a> in the south is complex. It derives largely from migration, including Ahmadi Muslims who came to Ghana during colonial times, and conversions to Islam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, although Ghana has not been affected by religious conflict, the ways youth from the Muslim minority relate to their nation is an important question, particularly given the involvement of Islamic militants in kidnapping and violence in other African nation-states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marginalised as young Muslim women<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The young women in our research told us they were proud of Ghana\u2019s record as a peaceful, democratic country and were strongly committed to their nationality as Ghanaians. Strikingly, however, their depictions of the ideal Ghanaian woman and man were strongly gendered. Almost all their national heroes were male icons in the public domain, whereas the ideal Ghanaian woman was described as \u201ctaking care of the house, the kids and other family matters\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another participant commented that \u201cthe ideal Ghanaian woman brings up her children very nicely in a very godly manner\u201d. Clearly, religious values were also important in the ways they imagined the ideal Ghanaian woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When outside the family, women\u2019s propriety was under constant scrutiny, particularly for the ways they dressed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026an ideal national woman, you will not see a Ghanaian, a \u2018proper\u2019 Ghanaian going to a meeting and she is in mini skirt \u2026 it shows her dignity, like it shows your respect, once they see you like that they say, \u2018Oh, which country are you coming from?\u2019 And you say \u2018Ghana\u2019. You are bringing respect to the nation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Such judgements reflect traces of colonialism. Women\u2019s dress was an important marker of the success of Britain\u2019s \u201ccivilising mission<\/a>\u201d and integral to Ghana\u2019s post-colonial \u201canti-nudity\u201d campaigns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, Islamic dress clearly sat outside Ghana\u2019s westernised ideals of dressing. Participants discussed how wearing the veil could mark them as \u201cweird\u201d. Alongside objections to their dress, their religious practices such as praying had also been prohibited or obstructed in both schools and workplaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the young women were strongly committed to their identities as Muslims and Ghanaians, they also reported being confronted with negative stereotypes that associated Islam with violence. This left them feeling judged and belittled:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey (non-Muslims) think that we are violent and they see us as trouble makers, always causing problems. Even though it is not like that, that is how they see us.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, senses of \u201cotherness\u201d and marginalisation were apparent not only between Christians and Muslims, but between those from different Muslim communities. This was especially the case for young women from the Ahmadi communities and those who had converted \u2013 both were regarded as not being \u201cproper\u201d Muslims.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, despite Ghana\u2019s commitment to republican democracy, young Muslim women in this research did not always feel valued as Ghanaian citizens. From their stories, some had experienced marginalisation and exclusions in schools and workplaces, as well as within Ghana\u2019s different Muslim communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policy and research implications<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Our research shows there\u2019s more to Muslim youth than the stereotypical depictions. Given the importance of schooling in the production of national identities, curricula and educational practices should take account of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More qualitative research is also needed into the intersections of nation, religion, ethnicity, gender and education in different contexts of Ghana. It is important to explore the voices of youth in Muslim-majority contexts in the north, and in the Muslim communities known as \u201czongos\u201d in urban contexts of Ghana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Barbara Crossouard<\/a>, Reader in Education, University of Sussex<\/a><\/em>; Christine Adu-Yeboah<\/a>, Associate Professor, Higher Education and Teacher Education, University of Cape Coast<\/a><\/em>; Eric Ananga<\/a>, Lecturer, International Education and Development, University of Education<\/a><\/em>; M\u00e1ir\u00e9ad Dunne<\/a>, Professor of Sociology of Education, University of Sussex<\/a><\/em>, and Vincent Adzahlie-Mensah<\/a>, Senior Lecturer, Social Studies<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article is republished from\u00a0The Conversation<\/a>\u00a0under a Creative Commons license. Read the\u00a0original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source:<\/strong>The Conversation<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Send your news stories to\u00a0dannyboy744@gmail.com<\/a>\u00a0and via WhatsApp on +233 266777777<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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