#BeBoldForChange : Team Savelugu Celebrating Women

Beth: 

The banana seller near our office

For 104 years, International Women’s Day has been celebrated on March 8^th. This day is not just about working towards gender equality, it’s also a time to recognise the achievements and contributions of women all around the world. When in the UK we talk about successful women, we usually think of politicians, CEOs and celebrities. While women in Ghana do achieve in these areas, being here has made me think about other ways in which women can be successful and how narrow my concept of a businesswoman has been.

A businesswoman isn’t always someone in a crisp suit who heads board meetings. The woman who comes by our office with a basket of cloth on her head is a businesswoman, as is the woman at the stall where we buy yam and beans for lunch. Independent businesswomen are a key part of the economy of Savelugu; we see them at the market and all around the town, selling fruit, noodles, rice, shea butter and so on. Businesses don’t have to involve more than one person or be formally structured to be significant. The informal entrepreneurship I have observed in rural Ghanaian women is very different to the businesses I encounter at home in the UK.

Despite its vital importance to society, stereotypically ‘feminine’ work, such as childcare and food preparation, (which is of course not always done by women) is often not valued as highly as it should be. With translation help from my fellow volunteer Rahama, I spoke to a woman who sells bananas near our office (photo right)

For six years, she has been selling bananas that her sister brings from Sunyani, the capital of the Brong-Ahafo Region. She spoke about how difficult it can be for her to make a profit.

Women all over the world, especially in less equal societies, face the challenge of dealing with multiple economic and domestic expectations. This balancing act isn’t always just metaphorical; it is a common sight here to see women carrying their wares on their heads and their babies on their backs. 

A local yam seller: another example of an independent businesswoman

Simone:

We recognise and appreciate the work done by women; mothers, sisters, workers, carers, friends, leaders and all the other endless roles and standards that women uphold. We wanted to illustrate just how much gratitude we have for all the women worldwide and their forgotten and ignored pains and struggles that without which the world wouldn’t function in the same way. As a team, we concluded that for International Women’s Day-we must make it big!

Simone preparing for the march

For the day of the 8^th, we as a team organised a march with the local community in Savelugu. To enlarge the crowd and ensure the event was successful we decided to liaise with Savelugu senior high school and collaborated with them so we were all to march on the day. At 9am we arrived at the school. It was more than what any of us could have anticipated, the students were all prepared and revved up for our march, and to increase the spirits (and noise) they brought along their band of drums.

The experience was amazing and exhilarating, as us volunteers marched alongside students and community people, all united as one for International Women’s Day. There was singing, chanting, clapping and most importantly, dancing. Our presence through the streets of Savelugu was something else, and with other locals along the roadside dancing cheering and joining in, we were definitely being noticed.

After the march, we thanked everyone who took part, and a speech was given to the students about the importance of the actual day. We made sure that the message of International Women’s Day hadn’t been lost or forgotten through all the fun we had been having during the march. Ending on the quote by Mr James Aggrey, ‘if you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate the whole nation’, which all the school children knew!

It was a really empowering movement on a whole and I honestly couldn’t have pictured things to have gone any smoother- it exceeded all our expectations. International Women’s Day is important, but it is also important that we don’t overlook the roles carried out by women, and that we learn to appreciate them more in our everyday lives.

Team Watermelon walking through Savelugu with local students