Women on the move in Ghana: Gender, social change, and migration

By Dorte Thorsen

Thinking on gender and migration is often underpinned by assumptions that aren’t supported by empirical facts. Remote, rural communities are NOT always sites of stagnant traditions and social inertia! Young women’s migration is NOT always an escape from marriage!

A new working paper in the Migrating out of Poverty series analyses qualitative data from a study of intra-household dynamics and youth aspirations. It demonstrates that economic and environmental explanations of internal migration from northern to southern Ghana are insufficient on their own. Migration is prompted by, and prompts, deep seated social and cultural change - which this paper explores.

In a setting where women’s migration was frowned upon until recently, it is peculiar that young unmarried women have become the majority of southbound migrants. It begs the question of what has changed in rural communities to make this change possible.

Unpacking social change

Conceptually the paper situates itself with debates about culture, globalisation and modernity to untangle what social change involves. Imaginatively the authors combine Clifford’s work on culture and modernity to question what triggers change and Pieterse’s work on globalisation and culture to distinguish between different forms of change.

They look at surface elements of change such as food habits, fashion, art forms etc. and deep seated elements relating to norms and values. The analysis departs from Pieterse’s preoccupation with hybrid identities produced in migration to capitalise on Clifford’s deliberations on how outside influences trigger change in local places.

By pegging the analysis on this distinction between different types of change, and being inquisitive about the social changes reinforcing, or being reinforced by, economic and environmental factors, the paper sheds light on changing gender dynamics in northern Ghana.

Social change leading to migration

In northern Ghana men are increasingly unable to provide for their families. This is key to understanding changes in the social fabric of rural communities. That men in northern Ghana have difficulty in meeting their culturally mandated responsibilities is not a new phenomenon. It underpins the economic and environmental explanations of men’s migration.

However, these explanations fall short of explaining why more and more women and not men move in response to the grinding poverty.

Women are making up for men’s dwindling provisions by engaging in a wider range of farm and off-farm activities to help feed their families. Helped by the development of infrastructure and the greater availability of goods, women have expanded petty trade. The mobility that goes with acquiring goods and accessing markets has opened the door for a gradual acceptance of greater mobility among women.

Young women’s migration is tied into older women’s responsibilities and access to resources. Given the relations of production and reproduction in northern Ghana, young women have little access to resources and little control over their own labour: they work for their mothers. This dynamic supports migration in different ways. Mothers sponsor the migration of daughters (biological or social) to receive remittances which help cover household expenses. Daughters may migrate under their own steam to relieve themselves of unpaid work and gain control over their income.

Marriage and migration

Marriage has not disappeared from the migration equation. Senior men are increasingly unable to meet responsibilities related to marriage. As a result, young men are required to find the money for bride wealth (payments to the girl’s family). Because senior men are struggling these payments have grown. In the past the groom and the girl’s family provided the bride with a trousseau of things needed to run a household but this expense has increasingly been shifted over to young women before marriage or in the early days of their marriage.

The need to pay for continued education, to purchase the things they desire, and to enter marriage in a way that establishes their position in the marital household motivates young people to migrate. It motivates young women more than young men because they have the least access to resources. Senior men’s inability to provide these things has gradually eroded patriarchal authority in northern Ghana leading to a continuation of the flow of young female migrants towards the south.

Social change wrought by migration

Migration creates surface level changes as rural youths adopt new ways of being in the South. It is often thought that return migrants’ urban dress and hairstyles and their new eating habits entice rural youths to migrate. However, in northern Ghana surface level changes are dismissed by young and old alike. Migration, this paper argues, is fostered squarely by deep seated social change in rural communities.

Migration also creates deep seated changes. The ways in which migrants conduct themselves at the destination in relation to intimate relationships, having children, and marrying has provoked changes in the practices, norms and values surrounding marriage. Young migrants do not always adhere to the rules of endogamy but enter inter-faith and inter-ethnic relationships which are frowned upon in northern Ghana. They also break with the former sequence of marrying first, then co-habiting, and then having children and often end up relying on kin to perform the marriage rituals after having started a family.

Within rural households migration sparks changes in norms and values relating to decision-making and the division of work. Tasks in the household and on the farm are usually done in accordance with local notions of age- and gender-appropriateness. But the allocation of work becomes more flexible when no-one of the right age or gender is around. Nowadays boys do some of the work in the house that used to be considered girls’ work. Men and women, boys and girls all chip in doing farm work. This flexibility is not entirely new but it has become much more visible, if not normalised, due to the numbers of young women migrating.

By drawing attention to the different dynamics creating social change in northern communities the paper demonstrates that the relationship between migration and social change is not unidirectional. The power of senior men is gradually eroding and they can do little to preserve the norms that used to give them prerogative and power within the family and in the local community. Grinding poverty in northern Ghana contributes to broader social changes in multiple locations. This impacts on gender relations within households and across generations in ways that empower women by affording them room to make decisions and increasing their independent incomes. However, the changes may also make young women more vulnerable because parents and other senior relatives cannot, or will not, intervene in marital conflicts if they have not endorsed the marriage or the marriage rituals have not been completed.

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Dorte Thorsen is Theme Leader on gender dynamics in the Migrating out of Poverty Research Programme Consortium in the School of Global Studies. She is also Associate Tutor in Anthropology.

Buduburam in the Gomoa region of Ghana, west of Accra: From refugee camp to self-sufficient community

By Mariana Chambel

Liberian refugees have been displaced in Ghana since 1990. The Gomoa-Buduburam refugee camp, located 35 km west of Accra, was initially built to host these refugees escaping the civil war in Liberia. Given the nature of their move, Liberians were afforded protection by the Government of Ghana. Initially, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided the settlement’s residents with aid and relief to the refugees but by 2007, UNHCR started to advocate the return of the refugees since peace had come to the country. The Government of Ghana followed UNHCR’s steps and actively promoted voluntary return to Liberia. At that time there were an estimated 40,000 refugees in the camp. In 2011, the Deputy Minister of Information in Ghana stated that “Buduburam is no longer needed and that the inhabitants should consider returning to Liberia or settling elsewhere in Ghana”. Yet that statement did not persuade the refugees to leave.

Fast-forward to today, when visiting the settlement, currently managed by the National Disaster Management Organization (NADMO), I came to find a peaceful, structured and multi-cultural place. A place where its residents have access to basic commodities and services, such as water, food and sanitation. In the settlement there is also a hospital, police posts, fire service posts, a school, a place of worship, a Liberian cultural centre, numerous shops and markets, and a security system. Many of its inhabitants engage in farming, trading, or small business.

A significant number of the remaining community of first and second generations of Liberians, sees in the Buduburam settlement their home; while some of them were buried in Gomoa, others were born in Gomoa.

Who has left and who has stayed?

Since peace came to Liberia and the country became politically stable, 18,642 refugees have voluntarily repatriated.

Byrne (2013) argues that the concept of identity influences refugees’ likelihood of finding a durable solution. The sense of national identity, namely being born in Ghana, is an important indicator about a refugee’s desire to remain in Ghana. As Byrne explains, this demonstrates an emphasis on ethno-cultural concepts of identity over civic or legalistic concepts of identity. Those with strong ethnic bloodlines or ancestry, and Liberian national identities would be least likely candidates for local integration.

Durable Solutions

The Ministerial Committee has been tasked by the Ministry of the Interior, to make recommendations for the Buduburam refugee settlement closure. In theory, there are three durable solutions to exile:

Voluntary Repatriation:  
Voluntary repatriation has been considered by some to be one of the most durable solutions for refugees, since returning to one’s root is the best way to redress the situation of those in exile. Still, it is worth asking if return is indeed desired, advisable and/or possible for them. According to Yeboah (2015), some of their concerns about repatriation include: the possibility of attack or punitive action back home, and whether or not they would have access to shelter, health care, quality education, employment, and skills training services. Lastly, they anticipate financial compensations to cover for their lost belongings during the conflict, which is not necessarily going to come to fruition.

By 2007, UNHCR had ceased its repatriation efforts due to the lack of interest from Liberians.

Local integration:
Local integration suggests that refugees are self-reliant and have opportunities to support themselves in the host country. Yet, in 2008, refugee protestors made it clear about their unwillingness to be integrated into Ghana. Interviews conducted by Holzer (2012) revealed that most people feared and opposed local integration. Since the departure of the UNHCR, most refugees felt unprotected and and concerned about the host country’s attitudes towards foreigners. Moreover, local integration is a social and cultural process within the host country. Just like any other type of migrant, refugees go through an adjustment process of integration.

Resettlement to a third country of asylum:
According to Teye (2010), an important factor why many refugees do not consider voluntaryrepatriation or local integration as durable solutions is their desire to join a resettlement programme elsewhere, instead. Even though this is their preferred alternative, less than 1% of refugees are resettled worldwide. Despite the calm and peaceful environment in the settlement, I could feel that my presence raised apprehension among the people living in the settlement. Inhabitants distrust outsiders as they feel constantly threatened with the possibility of having to abandon their homes. Uncertainty comes with a lot of fears; whether they will be forced to repatriate, or forced to integrate, for the past 20 years Liberian refugees have been living in limbo. More than anything, communication would solve a lot of problems. People do not know what their status is, what the national health insurance card means for them, and they do not have information either about what is available when they return.

All in all, voluntary repatriation, local integration and resettlement to a third country have been widely accepted in literature as durable solutions to refugees, however, these solutions have not been fully materialized and refugees’ expectations, to improve their standard of living and find safe haven from persecution, have not been fulfilled. It is important to remember that under national law, refugees who are being integrated are entitled to the same rights and benefits as are nationals. However, considering what they have experienced, we should consider that they will likely need more support. Policies and measures to protect refugees and grant them rights should consider the identified factors that would make them self-reliant while taking note of their varying background characteristics. Displaced people, like any people, have different dreams, needs and goals that need to be accommodated in this process.

Mariana Chambel is a Migrating out of Poverty Communications Research Assistant based at the University of Ghana, Centre for Migration Studies.

Human Smuggling and Border Crossings - en français

We repost the blog by Dorte Thorsen originally published by Border Criminologies. This is a French translation by Alice Jeanelle.

Par Dorte Thorsen, directrice de la recherche qualitative et sur le genre, pour le consortium du programme de recherche « Migrating out of poverty » (MOOP), de la School of Global Studies, Université du Sussex, DPhil in African Studies, est chercheur associée au LMI-MOVIDA.

Traduction Alice Jeannelle 

Note de lecture de l’ouvrage Human Smuggling and Border Crossings, par Gabrielle E. Sanchez (Routledge, 2015).

Cette critique a été originellement publiée en anglais par le réseau « Border Criminologies » le 22 juillet 2016 (lire ici) ainsi que sur le site du MOOP le 1er aooût 2016 (lire ici).

C’est avec succès que Human Smuggling and Border Crossings (Trafic d’humains et passages de frontière) défie la prédominance d’un discours qui rattache le trafic d’humains aux organisations criminelles de type mafia, à la violence extrême et à la cupidité. Gabriella Sanchez brosse un tableau de réseaux fluides d’hommes et de femmes ordinaires, qui s’engagent pour faciliter le passage de la frontière extralégale dans l’Etat de l’Arizona, aux Etats-Unis, afin de surmonter des disparités de revenus ou de lutter contre – et s’opposer à – la marginalisation structurelle. À travers une combinaison unique de connaissances solides du contrôle aux frontières et des procédures judiciaires, obtenues via son travail d’interviews des détenus pour un tribunal régional, d’une analyse critique des dossiers judiciaires et d’une recherche ethnographique de terrain, Sanchez expose les diverses activités qui composent les opérations de passage de frontières. Son travail est une contribution importante au corpus de recherche émergent, qui souligne les perspectives et les pratiques des individus qui facilitent ces passages.


L’ethnographie s’attaque de façon continue aux discours mondial et local sur le trafic et le passage de frontières extralégales, en identifiant les visions biaisées et les déformations qui ont pour but de promouvoir des politiques publiques spécifiques. Conformément aux chercheurs critiques des régimes contemporains de la gestion de la migration, Sanchez remarque que porter l’accent sur les crises humanitaires, la violence et les morts dans les zones frontalières aboutit souvent en arguments hors-contextes et a-historiques, qui échouent à prendre en compte les effets des inégalités de race, de genre et de classe. Ceci, démontre-t-elle, est particulièrement problématique dans le contexte de l’Arizona, où les inégalités raciales remontent à plus d’un siècle et sont devenues avec le temps, à des degrés divers, institutionnalisés dans les législations du travail et de l’immigration.

Tandis que la marginalisation des immigrés Mexicains pourrait soutenir l’idée qu’ils sont enclins à s’engager dans des activités délictueuses pour gagner de l’argent rapidement, la déconstruction continue par Sanchez des mythes autour du trafic enterre cette idée avant qu’elle ne s’installe dans notre esprit. Son analyse détaillée des gens facilitant le passage de frontière montre qu’ils forment un groupe hautement disparate, tout en pointant avec précision les points communs relatifs au travail et au genre. Bien que les hommes comme les femmes peuvent opérer comme recruteurs et coordinateurs, les hommes sont habituellement ceux qui s’aventurent à guider les migrants à travers les frontières et les zones désertiques, les conduire d’un point à un autre, ou à la destination finale. Les femmes tendent plutôt à travailler en lieu sûr, où elles procurent des soins et apportent un soutien aux migrants en transit, remplissant ainsi le rôle important de garantir la fiabilité du réseau.

Ces informations fournissent de nouveaux éclairages. En approfondissant l’analyse pour comprendre les dynamiques de genre en jeu, Sanchez décompose les positions structurellement différentes et les parcours des hommes et femmes Mexicains aux Etats-Unis. Elle démontre que les femmes facilitatrices du passage de frontière sont plus installées dans les zones frontalières de l’Arizona que leurs homologues masculins, et que cela leur permet de puiser dans différents créneaux du processus de facilitation. Ces créneaux réitèrent les inégalités de genre dans le salaire, mais pas nécessairement dans la position sociale. Tandis que les stéréotypes raciaux au sein des autorités et forces de l’ordre exposent davantage les hommes Mexicains aux contrôles d’identité, les femmes facilitatrices et leurs familles sont, en réalité, plus profondément affectées dans les situations de détention et de déportation. Pour les femmes, la déportation implique la séparation d’avec les enfants, tandis que pour les hommes, dont les familles restent souvent dans le pays d’origine, la déportation n’a pas le même effet.

Enfin, défiant l’idée que les trafiquant appartiennent à des réseaux criminels, Sanchez décrit le caractère social et flexible des réseaux de parents et de proches de la facilitation du passage de frontière en Arizona. La plupart des gens ne s’engage pas dans ces réseaux par cupidité, mais inscrit plutôt sa participation dans un acte de solidarité et le sentiment d’être concerné. Quelqu’un en difficulté économique peut se voir encouragé par ses proches à participer à la facilitation du passage de frontière pour surmonter son embarras, ou encore les facilitateurs peuvent permettre aux migrants de travailler au lieu de payer un prix dont ils ne pourraient s’acquitter autrement. Souvent, les facilitateurs enrôlent les migrants comme chauffeurs (c’est-à-dire comme partie prenante du processus de facilitation) et leur proposent alors un prix réduit. Ces pratiques montrent la fluidité et la flexibilité des réseaux de passages de frontière en Arizona.

Human Smuggling and Border Crossings est un compte-rendu captivant, fondé sur des recherches de terrain, montrant comment et pourquoi les facilitateurs de passage de frontières s’organisent. Sanchez encadre son approche analytique dans le débat vieux comme le monde de la structure et de l’agency, et s’en réfère au travail de Bourdieu pour souligner que les choix se font dans les interstices des limites imposées par l’habitus et des liens tissés entre les gens autour de contraintes sociales et structurelles dans la lutte pour une position sociale. Toutefois, ce débat n’est pas évoqué dans son analyse.

Son argumentaire aurait peut-être gagné à proposer une théorisation plus approfondie de la multiplicité en entrecroisant l’économie morale autour des immigrés Mexicains dans les zones de frontières de l’Arizona, et les responsabilités sociales et la réciprocité dans la communauté mexicaine au sens large, ainsi que dans les relations plus intimes. Cet angle aurait pu faire ressortir plus succinctement les contradictions de la gestion de la migration en Arizona, tel que le traitement différent des femmes et des hommes mexicains, ou accorder aux migrants irréguliers un certain degré de régularisation, tout en leur refusant une légalisation complète. Cela m’intéresserait d’en savoir plus sur les façons dont les normes et les valeurs en lien avec les inégalités de genre et de classes sont affectées par les processus de marginalisation en Arizona, et comment la communauté Mexicaine est liée aux inégalités raciales.

La lecture de Human Smuggling and Border Crossings est un remarquable contraste avec le stéréotype médiatisé du trafiquant d’humains, qui arrive à point nommé, et offre ainsi une importante contribution à la compréhension des effets des régimes migratoires dans les pays du nord. Ce livre intéressera particulièrement les étudiants en master ou dernière année de licence, les chercheurs, les journalistes et les gens qui s’intéressent à la diversité des flux migratoires, au contrôle aux frontières et à la gestion de la migration. L’ethnographie étant abordée sans jargon anthropologique, c’est une introduction simple au type de vision et au genre de détail que les études ethnographiques proposent.

Traduction Alice Jeannelle