Workshop Room
11:15 - 11:45
English
Talk
Beginner
Female
For Better, For Worse: What #metoo Was For Me and For You

Kurzthese

The #metoo movement sparked a flame which devoured and changed the global social justice scene. It brought attention to the epidemic of sexual abuse, exposed deeds of offenders and left a sense of bleak reckoning for abusers.
Was the effect the same in Ghana? Did #metoo create positive change, or did it worsen Ghana's rape culture? We will explore how the use of social media created radical change in the fight against abuse in the West and the consequences it may have had in Ghana.

Beschreibung

This talk seeks to understand Ghana's response to the #metoo movement by answering these questions:  Why did many Ghanaian women not come out to join the campaign? What impact did #metoo have on Ghanaian activism and the country? These questions will be approached from a comparative viewpoint of #metoo in the West vis a vis Africa. We will put these two geographies side by side and examine their differences and similarities and the roles these possibly played in the outcome of #metoo in Ghana.

A light will be shed on the origins of #metoo and its explosion in the West. This section will briefly describe some Ghanaian reactions towards sexual abuse in terms of gender and fame. The effectiveness and reactions of Government bodies and law enforcement will be examined to discern how they contribute to rape culture reactions using. Figures such as Kwasi Kyei Darwkah (KKD), Lawerence Abrokwah, Otiko Afisa Djaba, and a few others will be highlighted in painting the picture of Ghanaian gender bias in governance and public opinion.

The concept of celebrities and their role in social justice will be taken into consideration, before moving on to a dissection of the success or failure of #metoo in Ghana. Responses and reactions to the movement will be highlighted and traced to probable causes and its impact will be weighed through the opinions and ideas of keynote Ghanaian activists.

Speakers