Gender power relations in the Upper West Region of Ghana : The role of the woman peasant in the education of the girl-child in Goripe.

This study sought to understand the multiple strategies women farmers in Goripie in the Upper West Region of Ghana employ to ensure the education of the girl-child, in spite of the numerous challenges they face on a daily basis. The study employed the use of qualitative research methods to examine the perspectives of various stakeholders (women, women groups, NGOs, teachers, agricultural extension officers) on how gender power relations play out in the study area especially in the allocation of resources such as land. Using agency theory, concepts such as gender power relations, among others to guide the study, the findings show that, women’s access to land rights in Goripie is discriminatory because, customarily, women in this part of Ghana do not own lands. This infringement of women’s rights has been a barrier to their empowerment. Additionally, findings from the study also reveal that from birth, there are gender inequalities in most households in Goripie and boys are given preferential treatment over girls. The study recommends that in order for gender equality to be achieved, efforts should be made by development actors to change the structures that create inequality between men and women. Resource investment in women will empower them and increase their incomes/livelihoods and decision-making power and this will directly contribute to the education of the girl child.