THE OUTCOMES OF FEMALE ADOLESCENTS’ FUTURE ASPIRATIONS IN A PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY: A STUDY IN THE WA TRADITIONAL AREA OF THE UPPER WEST REGION OF GHANA

Abstract

The adolescent stage is a critical transition period in the human development cycle in which a person undergoes personal, physical, and psychological development which shapes his or her goal attainment in life. However, in a patriarchal society which is characterised by a preference for a male child and male dominance over a female, most female adolescents’ future aspirations are hindered. The study was conducted to explore the future aspirations of female adolescents, life experiences of women and its implications on the aspirations of female adolescents, and the perception of men on patriarchy in the Wa Traditional Area. The liberal feminist theoretical perspective guided the study, where a phenomenological design was employed. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select 54 respondents comprising female adolescents (16), male adolescents (8), women (13), men (13) and stakeholders (4) where content and thematic data analysis were used. The findings showed that both female and male adolescents share similar aspirations of attaining higher education, career goals, and marriage preference. Regrettably, female adolescents are far from achieving their aspirations due to patriarchal tendencies and the intermediating role of poverty. Also, most women are unable to achieve their perceived aspirations during adolescence whereas men are more able. Women however, showed a positive willingness to support their daughters despite the inhibiting role of patriarchy. The study recommends among others, that there should be community sensitisation, collaboration among stakeholders to reform patriarchy, and job creation to reduce the level of poverty which exacerbates patriarchal tendencies and affects females’ aspirations.