Across these intertwined narratives, Aidoo reveals how deeply language shapes gender and power in African societies. Patriarchy speaks in both whispers and commands, glorifying women’s sacrifice through idioms, and romanticising their suffering through proverbs, as seen in Esi’s conversation with her grandmother, Nana. Also, through casual conversations, patriarchal language is used to reduce women’s ambitions to “Western” delusions.
That evening, the evening I became a woman, began like any other. I had stepped out just before dusk, when the sky still held onto the last of its colour—soft purple, pale blue, kind orange. The sun spilled its light in gold ribbons, coating everything with warmth, so that everything glowed with the godlike radiance of love. It had become my ritual to walk through the quiet suburbs to the hills, where I could climb the rocks, breathe in the green, and look out at Accra lying still on the horizon.
Cover Image Courtesy: Clarke Sanders // Unsplash As we celebrate the strides made toward gender equality and move toward gender equity, it seems a critical narrative – the consequences of toxic masculinity – is being overlooked. Societal expectations have forced men into rigid moulds, as culture continues to prioritise male stoicism, dominance, and aggression over essential human qualities like vulnerability,…
The perpetuation of harmful gender stereotypes in Ghanaian media contributes significantly to the erosion of women’s contribution and the marginalisation and exclusion of women, strengthening existing social and economic disparities.
To illustrate, Ghana stood out as one of the top three economies in the 2020 MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE), boasting an impressive percentage of female business owners.