"Arise, O Sons of Ghana Land": Revisiting the Machismo Gnosis of Ghana's Postcolonial Curriculum

• In Event: Individual Development and Curriculum Possibilities

Abstract

This paper discusses how specific Ghanaian national symbols erase women’s political agency from anti-colonial and post-independence nationalist narratives. Using qualitative content analysis methodology, the paper critically analyzes gendered texts and images used in Ghana’s national anthem, pledge and paper currency notes. By highlighting the unequal and patriarchal representations of history that these symbols communicate to both young and older Ghanaians, the paper argues that these symbols reproduce a null curriculum of ignorance and disregard for female agency and contribution to Ghana’s independence and nation-building agenda. The paper employs African feminist theory to recommend collaborative measures between educators and policy makers to address these implicit biases that are often overlooked in larger conversations about gender equity in Ghana.

Author

• Phyllis Kyei Mensah, Miami University - Oxford