Suchergebnisse

This study investigates household maintenance and decision making among lone female parents in Accra using in-depth interviews and a survey. The study examines how lone mothers economically provide for their children and households and whether they make major decisions. The major findings are that the majority of single mothers through gainful employment bear the bulk of responsibility in the maintenance of children and the household in addition to making major decisions. Kin of lone mothers, on the other hand, mostly assist the women, especially the few unemployed mothers with providing for children, housing, and household chores. The majority of children's fathers fulfill their responsibility in the payment of school fees; however, most do not provide for the nutritional and clothing needs of their children. The study concludes that single female parents to a large extent provide the needs of their households and are largely responsible for household decisions.

Although largely considered an unconventional form of domestic partnership, cohabitation is a growing phenomenon in Ghana. The lived experiences of cohabiting couples have, however, received little scholarly attention. Drawing on in-depth interviews conducted with cohabiting couples in Accra, Ghana, this study focuses on the implications of cohabitation on cohabitees. The data showed that cohabitees often face pressures from their families, churches, friends, and neighbors to either convert their unions to marriage or end the relationships. The relationships are also characterized by intimate partner violence and poor relationship quality. Women, more than men, tend to suffer these consequences of cohabitation. The study's general conclusion is that the implications of cohabitation are mostly negative, and the gendered nature of the experiences reflects the sociocultural landscape of the Ghanaian society and how men and women are viewed differently in terms of their marital status.

Drawing on qualitative research from rural and urban areas, this article contributes to evolving social research in Ghana on possible changes in the gendered distribution of domestic labour. Formulated within debates on 'doing gender' and 'undoing gender', this study examines the extent to which acts of gender transgression may potentially occur during peak reproductive periods in the lives of Ghanaian couples. The findings of the study indicate that the participants reiterated normative gendered definitions of men as primary providers and women as primary domestic caretakers. Nonetheless, it was noted that during their partner's pregnancy, men in both urban and rural areas were willing to modify their daily schedule to incorporate more housework. Simultaneously, men's involvement in all or most of the household chores was perceived as potentially dangerous to the gendered balance of labour in the family and could, according to the participants, stimulate laziness among female partners. Despite the apparent resistance to male performance of domestic chores, the article argues that men's willingness to do housework during their partner's pregnancy may be an early indicator of slow but steady transformations in gender relations in Ghana.