Jackson advocate., 1959-06-06
chana Visitor
Continued from Page One)

progress ahead for the women of
her country.
Mrs. Attafua and her husband,
Kwame Attafua, are both from
Christian families in Ghana and
therefore were married in a Chris
tian ceremony. This means that
she takes her husbands name. But,
where the couple are not of the
Christian faith, and have an Afri-
can ceremony, the wife retains
her own name and the husband
may have a second or third wife
depending on his financial status.
Mrs. Attafua says that plural
marriages are being discouraged
and are found chiefly in the vii
lagos, And, although a woman
does not want her husband to take
second wife, she accepts her
after African custom, once she is
added to the family.
Women Fare Well
On the whole, she says, men
of Ghana treat their wives well.
Perhaps this has been encouraged
by the fact that the wife, although
she goes to her husbands home
to dwell. is still considered to be-
long to her own family. Her place
in the family's home is always
hers to go to and, in any major
decision concerning her, such as a
long trip for instance, the hus-
band would consult her family.
If he mistreated her, her father
or brothers weuld step in and take
her back to the protection of her
own home.
There are many women traders
in the markets Of Ghana and they
do profitable business, says Mrs.
Attafua. But not all husbands
like to have their wives in bust
ness because whatever they make
belongs to them alone. They u.s.
ually contribute major portion
of it to the family income, but
husband has no claim on what his
wife earns.
Many young women are now
working in stores and offices, 60
ing to college, and taking an in
terest in the affairs of their new
country. There are two women
doctors. in Ghana, a woman law
yer, and women teachers and
nurses.
Teaching Years
Mrs. Attafua taught six years
at Mmofraturo, a Methodist school
for girls, before her marriage.
She had girls Of from IL to IA
years Of age and taught them aca-
demic subjects and domestic sci
ence.
Her husband, who was educated
in schools in Ghana and later at
Oxford in England, from 1914 to
1947, has been registrar for four
years at Kumasi College of Tech
nology, which was established by
the new Ghana government.
Mrs. Attafua is a native of Oda,
a small community in a rural area.
The typical village woman's
day, she explained during a recent
interview, would begin by sending
the children, eight or ten years
old, off to the river to bring water
for household use. They used to
carry it in clay pots but now use
kerosene cans instead, which have
been washed thoroughly in scald-
ing water 50 that the odor of
kerosene is gone. "a
The mother cleans the house
with a broom made from the
hard centers Of palm leaves, bound
together. Her house will be of
from four to ten rooms, depending
on the size Of the family-which
may include her husbands family
if the couple have gone to live
with his parents.
The house will probably be built |
Of bricks made from mud and
water "a mixture called swish)
and dried two or three days in |
the hot African sun. Floors, which |
used to be Of earth, are now Of |
cement which is easier to keep
clean.
An area behind the house is
securely fenced in with the same
brick. This is not only for privacy
for the family which, in this hot |
climate, eats outside and spends |
much time out-of-doors, but also |
to keep out marauding beasts.
After sweeping out the house, |