By Suenia de Azevedo
Ghana changed how I perceive the world. As a woman of color who wants to comprehend feminism outside the academic perspective, staying 6 weeks in this country was crucial for making me understand the urgency of intersectional feminism. Every woman I met and talked with is a significant part of my motivation to use my research as a portion of the change of the world for us.
Being in Ghana made me think why the world renunciates the comprehension of the Global South, especially African Countries. Why are we keen to understand Ghana as a possibility, as our final destination to build our lives? Not only Ghana but also Global South countries? Ghana gave me possible answers while watching powerful women like Dr. Audrey Gadzekpo and Dr. Abena Animwaa Yeboah-Banin change their own country with their research. Besides them, women who inspire me and I had the pleasure to work with, like Bernice and Miss Doris, and all the women I met in the arts and crafts center selling their arts.
From July 3 to August 3, I was an intern for the Alliance of Reproductive Health Rights (ARHR) under the supervision of Ms. Doris. Working in the internal communication area at an NGO such as ARHR gave me helpful skills for my research in comprehending the imbalance of gender equality from a macro perspective in the dynamic of the global south and global west and also from a micro perspective in how it works in Ghana. It is also necessary to point out how challenging was to work regarding this topic, not being able to explore abortion and LGBTQ+ rights. As a conservative country regarding those topics, Ghanaian laws depict homosexuality, transgender issues, and other queer population as morally nonaccepted, mainly justified by the Protestant and Muslim influence in the country.
