{"id":7380,"date":"2016-03-08T09:20:58","date_gmt":"2016-03-08T09:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/africlub.net\/awdf\/?p=7380"},"modified":"2016-07-07T15:32:59","modified_gmt":"2016-07-07T15:32:59","slug":"the-interviews-setting-the-stage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/","title":{"rendered":"The Interviews: Setting the Stage"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"University<\/a>
University of Ghana students laugh during a class lecture in Accra, Ghana on October 14, 2015. Photo \u00a9 Dominic Chavez\/World Bank<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Maame Akua Marfo<\/p>\n

In an empty classroom on the University Of Ghana’s Legon Campus, eight students are talking.<\/p>\n

It’s the kind of exchange one would expect on what is arguably the nation’s premier university, but the topic is far from their daily classroom discussions. The topic is their life. <\/span><\/p>\n

For \u00a0International Women’s day this year the African Women’s Development fund is hosting a panel conversation focusing \u00a0on sex and relationships and the concept of date rape on local university campuses. The topic is one that has been discussed at length both domestically and internationally. The Ghanaian public are already aware of just how brutal university campuses can be for young women – \u00a0from the stripping of a suspected thief in Commonwealth hall, to the leaking of various sex tapes and private pictures, young women are often victimized in these spaces. <\/span><\/p>\n

But from the outside it’s often hard to paint a real picture. <\/span><\/p>\n

So before the discussion we gathered a group of young women and a few men to see what the landscape of their campus is to them– and how date rape, sexual abuse and gender-based violence find their way into what are presumed to be hallowed halls.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the course of the first hour it becomes clear that the students talking are reflective– a far cry from the apathetic trope tossed around when students are discussed. They care deeply, especially about this. They open up about their relationships \u00a0– and the ones that happen around them, with a surprising ease. <\/span><\/p>\n

“We were in class and the professor asked a question \u00a0about how we think women should dress going to church. And this guy pipes up and starts talking about how as women when you go to church you have to dress well to attract the right kind of attention…you know? You’re looking for a husband and you don’t want to attract the wrong sort of man. Most of the girls in the class were offended. I mean what do you mean? Ghanaian girls everywhere we go we are looking for a husband. In a club. In church. In school. Everywhere,\u201d N, a final year student, said.<\/span><\/p>\n

To N there seemed to be a strange draw for long-term relationships which many girls presumed would lead to marriage, and there was a trend where a lot of the girls seemed to date older men. A few comments from \u00a0the male participants made it clear that there were times when this was true on their end too. They described relationships were their fellow students would have a decisive say in the ways their girlfriends dressed and the way they did their hair– and the girls in turn would have a list of things they didn’t want their boyfriend to do– though it seemed the first list was more restrictive. <\/span><\/p>\n

This need for long term relationships that mirror marriage can set a dangerous precedent. The large amount of pressure placed on these young women makes them susceptible to making choices that go against their best interest just to fit in better. It also makes them more likely to accept undesirable behavior from their spouses because catering to them becomes more than just a suggestion; it becomes a necessity. <\/span>
\nOne thing is clear however, these relationships aren\u2019t the only kind on campus. There\u2019s a hook up culture here too, though it\u2019s often hidden to avoid public shame (for women). Men however seem to be encouraged to have multiple relationships with multiple girls.<\/span><\/p>\n

To be continued<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Maame Akua Marfo In an empty classroom on the University Of Ghana’s Legon Campus, eight students are talking. It’s the kind of exchange one would expect on what is arguably the nation’s premier university, but the topic is far from their daily classroom discussions. The topic is their life. For \u00a0International Women’s day this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[171],"class_list":["post-7380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-iwd"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Interviews: Setting the Stage - The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Interviews: Setting the Stage - The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Maame Akua Marfo In an empty classroom on the University Of Ghana’s Legon Campus, eight students are talking. It’s the kind of exchange one would expect on what is arguably the nation’s premier university, but the topic is far from their daily classroom discussions. The topic is their life. For \u00a0International Women’s day this […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-03-08T09:20:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-07-07T15:32:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/22033021750_18859cb874_o-1024x639.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"639\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Communications\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Communications\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Communications\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0944a265659ce379489416a043736097\"},\"headline\":\"The Interviews: Setting the Stage\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-08T09:20:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-07T15:32:59+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":617,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"IWD\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Interviews: Setting the Stage - The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-03-08T09:20:58+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-07-07T15:32:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0944a265659ce379489416a043736097\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg\",\"width\":3900,\"height\":2433,\"caption\":\"University of Ghana students laugh during a class lecture in Accra, Ghana on October 14, 2015. Photo \u00a9 Dominic Chavez\\\/World Bank\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Interviews: Setting the Stage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/\",\"name\":\"The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)\",\"description\":\"...for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women\u2019s human rights.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/0944a265659ce379489416a043736097\",\"name\":\"Communications\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c75e7e45966638c563a850199ab501542ba34fdd7e9c820c233654f2f8418777?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c75e7e45966638c563a850199ab501542ba34fdd7e9c820c233654f2f8418777?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c75e7e45966638c563a850199ab501542ba34fdd7e9c820c233654f2f8418777?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Communications\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/awdf.org\\\/OldSite\\\/author\\\/communications\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Interviews: Setting the Stage - The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Interviews: Setting the Stage - The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)","og_description":"By Maame Akua Marfo In an empty classroom on the University Of Ghana’s Legon Campus, eight students are talking. It’s the kind of exchange one would expect on what is arguably the nation’s premier university, but the topic is far from their daily classroom discussions. The topic is their life. For \u00a0International Women’s day this […]","og_url":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/","og_site_name":"The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)","article_published_time":"2016-03-08T09:20:58+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-07-07T15:32:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":639,"url":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/22033021750_18859cb874_o-1024x639.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Communications","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Communications","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/"},"author":{"name":"Communications","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/#\/schema\/person\/0944a265659ce379489416a043736097"},"headline":"The Interviews: Setting the Stage","datePublished":"2016-03-08T09:20:58+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-07T15:32:59+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/"},"wordCount":617,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg","keywords":["IWD"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/","url":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/","name":"The Interviews: Setting the Stage - The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg","datePublished":"2016-03-08T09:20:58+00:00","dateModified":"2016-07-07T15:32:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/#\/schema\/person\/0944a265659ce379489416a043736097"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-content\/uploads\/22033021750_18859cb874_o.jpg","width":3900,"height":2433,"caption":"University of Ghana students laugh during a class lecture in Accra, Ghana on October 14, 2015. Photo \u00a9 Dominic Chavez\/World Bank"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/the-interviews-setting-the-stage\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Interviews: Setting the Stage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/#website","url":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/","name":"The African Women's Development Fund (AWDF)","description":"...for African women to live in a world in which there is social justice, equality and respect for women\u2019s human rights.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/#\/schema\/person\/0944a265659ce379489416a043736097","name":"Communications","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c75e7e45966638c563a850199ab501542ba34fdd7e9c820c233654f2f8418777?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c75e7e45966638c563a850199ab501542ba34fdd7e9c820c233654f2f8418777?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c75e7e45966638c563a850199ab501542ba34fdd7e9c820c233654f2f8418777?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Communications"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/awdf.org"],"url":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/author\/communications\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/awdf.org\/OldSite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}