Bloody widows? Discourses of tradition and gender in Ghanaian politics

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4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

According to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, although there have been steady increases in the number of women in politics, widespread gender inequalities persist. This is particularly pervasive in patriarchal societies where gender norms and practices are deeply entrenched, with socio-cultural barriers often cited as some of the key impediments to women’s search for political power. There have, therefore, been calls to remove such barriers for effective participation. Unfortunately, some events that occurred before Ghana’s 2020 election discourage, rather than encourage, women’s participation in governance. With data from articles, headlines and comments from various online media outlets, this paper examines three events that reinforce what may be called ‘a bloody widow discourse’ in Ghana’s politics. Using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis, the paper shows how traditional norms and expectations associated with widowhood can be perceived as barriers to women’s (and not men’s) quest for political power, thereby sustaining the unequal gender and power relations in politics. The use of allusion, rhetorical questions and presuppositions further perpetuate a ‘blame-the-widow’ discourse which makes the women appear unworthy of the power they seek.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)154-174
Number of pages21
JournalDiscourse and Society
Volume33
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022

Keywords

  • Feminist critical discourse analysis
  • Ghana
  • gender bias
  • media discourse
  • political discourse
  • tradition
  • widowhood rites
  • widow’s succession
  • women and politics

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