Asante market women

Examines the matrilineal and polygamous Ashanti society of Ghana through interviews with women who excerise complete authority in the wholesale produce market. The interviewees reveal the advantages and tribulations of their relationships, the practical problems they confront and the various solutions they embrace.

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"Disappearing world (Television program)"@en
"Asante market women: Disappearing world"

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"Examines the matrilineal and polygamous Ashanti society of Ghana through interviews with women who excerise complete authority in the wholesale produce market. The interviewees reveal the advantages and tribulations of their relationships, the practical problems they confront and the various solutions they embrace."@en
"Examines the matrilineal and polygamous Asante society of Ghana through interviews with women, who exercise complete authority in the wholesale produce market, and with their husbands and children. The interviewees reveal the advantages and tribulations of their relationships, the practical problems they confront, and the various solutions they embrace."
"Asante Market Women shows us a tribe in Ghana where the men are polygamous and the women are subordinate in all domestic matters. In the bustling Kumasi market place, however, the women reign supreme. These tough, assertive women have evolved their own power structure to settle all disputes over price and quality. Member of the series: Disappearing World."@en
"Examines the matrilineal and polygynous Asante society of Ghana through interviews with women who exercise complete authority in the wholesale marketing of their produce."@en
"An examination of the life-style of the Asante women of Ghana in the Kumani."@en
"In this documentary, the "Queen mothers" of Kumasi Central Market in Ghana talk with great humour and frankness of their lives in a society based on polygamous marriage, where women are subservient to men in all things domestic."@en
"Asante Market Women shows us a tribe in Ghana where the men are polygamous and the women are subordinate in all domestic matters. In the bustling Kumasi market place, however, the women reign supreme. These tough, assertive women have evolved their own power structure to settle all disputes over price and quality."@en
"Examines the matrilineal Asante society through interviews with the economically dominant women of the wholesale produce market."@en
"The Asante in Ghana live in a polygamous society where women are subservient to men in all things domestic. It is also a matrilineal society, where wealth passes not to a man's sons but to his sister's children. However, women have unusal power in the marketplace and they rule supreme there. Things are also changing as Asante's new generation are more educated."
"As retailers, wholesalers, and negotiators, Asante women of Ghana dominate the huge Kumasi Central Market amid the laughter, argument, colour and music. The crew of this `Disappearing World' film have jumped into the fray, explored, and tried to explain the complexities of the market and its traders. The success of this crew is impressive. As the film was to be about women traders, an all female film crew was selected and the rapport between the two groups of women is remarkable. The relationship was no doubt all the stronger because the anthropologist acting as advisor to the crew, Charlotte Boaitey, is herself an Asante. The people open up for the interviewers telling them about their lives as traders, about differences between men and women, their perception of their society and also about marriage. The women control the market through Queen Mothers who are leaders of particular sections of the market such as the yam or tomato sections. Generally these Queen Mothers are elected by the traders. However, Oba, the Plantain Queen Mother acquired her position through influence and because of this she has less control over her workers and over the resolution of differences. Market traders work long hours, make less than a shoe clerk or office worker yet the rewards for them can be many. The residual matrilineal system of Asante society means that inheritance moves from a man to his sister's children. The result is that an Asante woman is left with no means of support if her husband dies. The traders have gone to work to protect themselves against this possibility, to pay for their children's education and to maintain their independence. Implicit in this analysis of women traders is the relationship between men and women in Asante society. Marriage is polygamous and the crew interview women about their feelings on marriage and of their hopes of coming marriages. The film portrays the influence women have in the market as a direct contrast to their position in the home. Interviews with several husbands reveal, perhaps not surprisingly, that their perception of women differs from the women's perception of themselves. The men talk of the importance of having two wives, one to serve when the other is tired; one to grant sexual favours while the other is menstruating; each to compete with the other for male attention thus allowing the husband to retain control. Although the men accept a woman earning extra money, they still say a woman should be submissive and serve men. The women regard themselves as assertive, capable, and in control. Interviews with two young women demonstrate a desire for equality in the home. The film's analysis is a sympathetic one and full of insight. The focus is, though, rather narrowly on the husband-wife relationship and women's important relationships with their female and male kin are given little attention."@en
"Examines the matrilineal and polygamous Asante society of Ghana through interviews with women, who exercise complete authority in the wholesale produce market, and with their husbands and children. The interviewees reveal the advantages and tribulations of their relationships, the practical problems they confront, and the various solutions they embrace."@en
"Examines the matrilineal and polygamous Asante society of Ghana through interviews with women, who exercise complete authority in the wholesale produce market, and with their husbands and children. The interviewees reveal the advantages and tribulations of their relationships, the practical problems they confront, and the various solutions they embrace."