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Author(s): Margaret Ismaila, Gladys Nyarko Ansah.

Volume/Issue: Volume 9, Issue 3 (2026)

Page No: 22-40

Journal: African Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Research (AJSSHR)

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Abstract:

Environmental activism in the Global South is driven by diverse social, cultural, economic and political contexts. Historically, African women, as major custodians and consumers of natural resources, have never been reluctant or unable to fight for or defend their aspired futures. The Yaa Asantewaa War of 1900 in the Gold Coast, the Aba Women Rebellion of 1929 in Nigeria, and the late Wangari Muta Maathai’s exploits in Kenya are but a few examples of instances where African women have played crucial roles in advocating for heritage and land rights, sustainable practices, and the protection of natural resources. Though African women have often been confronted with gendered struggles as a result of patriarchal norms, unequal power dynamics and limited access to decision-making spaces, they have learnt to counter these challenges through collective resistance. African women’s activism is deeply rooted in community networks where protests are organised either radically, subtly, or through direct action in confronting the challenge or advocating for policy change. These acts of collective resistance provide resilience and create a safe environment for women’s advocacy. This paper historicises women’s involvement in environmental activism in Ghana, emphasising their contributions to the rural agrarian fight against land degradation and exploitation of such natural resources as gold. While the idea of environmental conservation may appear to be modern, there are practices among many ethnic groups, e.g. the Akan, that map onto traditional concepts of environmental conservation in their cultures. In Akan culture, and possibly elsewhere, the earth is believed to be feminine (Asaase Yaa ), a mother who produces for both human and animal consumption. Consequently, women in this culture have a recognised status in environmental conservation that are formalised in gender roles. For instance, while keeping the environment clean is assigned to females as a domestic chore, selecting the chief who will hold the land of the clan in trust for the clan is the prerogative of the queen mother (woman). Finally, the Akan woman is the true custodian of family lands – a child cannot inherit land from the father but the mother. The paper draws on primary and secondary research, using Akyem Asunafo, a rural Akan community in the Atiwa West District of the Eastern Region of Ghana, as a case study to investigate the application of collective resistance which is rooted in history, by the women in fighting off prospective small-scale miners. The paper explores how this cultural position is exploited by the women of Akyem Asunafo to do advocacy against illegal small-scale gold mining in their community.

Keywords:

Historicise, Resilience, Environment, Collective Resistance, Activism, Culture, Akan women, Galamsey.

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