Women and Rural Poverty: A Case Study of Kwawu South District of Ghana

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify the causes of poverty among rural women and seek recommendations from the respondents as to how poverty could be alleviated. Several theoretical perspectives have been used to explain the existence of rural poverty. Among them are the individualistic theory, the physical ecology theory and the political economy theory. The theoretical perspective that was found to be suitable for the study was the political economy theory. In conducting the study, a sample size of 220 was used. A multiple sample technique was adopted for selecting the sample size. Both primary data and secondary information were used. Interviews with the help of structured questionnaires and non-participant observation were used for the study. The findings of the study, which included gender inequalities in terms of access to land, credit and education, supported the political economy theory, which attributed poverty to unequal distribution of wealth and power and the urban bias of the government, district assemblies, policy makers and local elites. Based on the results of the study, it was recommended that to alleviate rural women's poverty, there should be a fairer system of distribution of wealth and power among the people and greater access of women to education IFE Psychologia (2002) 10(1), 72-84