Queen Mothers Research Articles

Midwives' perspectives on rural birthing experiences and newborn survival in Ghana

BackgroundAccess to essential and emergency newborn care services remains a challenge in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), especially in rural and remote areas where various factors increase maternal and newborn vulnerability. The scarcity of midwives on a global scale further strains obstetric and neonatal services, as midwives work at the forefront in many LMICs. In Ghana, neonatal deaths at birth and within 24 h contribute significantly to infant mortality rate, with midwives caring as frontline health workers. However, there is limited exploration of midwives' experiences in managing these situations. This study aimed to unveil the meanings and articulate the experiences of midwives who face newborns with respiratory distress at birth in rural southern Ghana.MethodsInterpretive Phenomenological approach was used to explore thirteen (13) midwives’ experiences of managing newborns in respiratory distress in rural birth settings amidst scare life saving resources, skilled staff shortage and limited advanced health care. The midwives were purposively sampled from the Shai-Osudoku district and data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Content analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts and rich narratives developed in the research report.ResultsRural midwives have limited access to newborn lifesaving equipment, adequate training, skill staff support, and timely advance care for newborns. These issues are driving factors for newborn referral in rural health care, but transportation gaps impede timely advance care delivery. Rural midwives’ inadequate psychosocial support and lack of enabling work environment engender moral distress with emotional burden requiring sustained attention from national leadership, as well as midwifery professional networks and regulatory bodies.ConclusionNewly qualified midwives require sustainable support as they struggle in birth spaces where ethical questions emerge as family members are engaged as support persons in neonatal resuscitation. Future research is needed to investigate Chiefs, Queen Mothers and Community Elders’ engagement in community-based interventions to support timely access to quality care and midwives’ heroic practices of saving maternal/newborn lives in rural Ghana to help achieve SDG 3.2.

Aesthetic analysis of the pattern of West queen mothers in the Shandong region during the Han dynasty

The West Queen Mother, as a comprehensive cultural phenomenon, has long been the subject of scholarly attention. In recent years, particularly with the rise of traditional Chinese culture, the cultural significance of the West Queen Mother has gained considerable popularity. In the realms of cultural creativity, animation, and gaming, the portrayal of the West Queen Mother has undergone further evolution and innovation, resulting in corresponding shifts in aesthetics. This research investigates the content classification and features of the West Queen Mother's pattern in the Shandong region during the Han Dynasty. By employing a combined approach of pattern analysis and Chinese aesthetics, the aim is to gain a deeper and multifaceted understanding of the culture surrounding the West Queen Mother. This study interprets the aesthetic style and factors associated with the Queen Mother from the perspective of traditional Chinese aesthetics. The conclusion drawn is that the pattern of the West Queen Mother in the Shandong region during the Han Dynasty exhibits aesthetic characteristics ranging from a flat abstraction with simplicity and naturalness to order, normativity, and symbolic representation of divinity. These characteristics demonstrate the richness of Han culture and reflect the Confucian aesthetic concept of the harmony between heaven and humanity, encompassing auspiciousness, loyalty, and filial piety as the highest moral standards, thereby aligning with the prevailing spirit and sociocultural context of the time.

The queen mothers’ struggle for breath: the colonisation of an institution

ABSTRACT The institution of queen motherhood, or remnants thereof, is found across the African continent. A study of queen motherhood during the nineteenth century in the south-eastern region of Africa coincides with the European arrival and its inevitable deleterious impact on African institutions. The title of this paper is derived from the incident of the tragic death of one George Floyd in 2013 who suffocated to death from a police officer’s knee pressure that was exerted on his neck, reminiscent of imperial constriction on indigenous societies. In this study, the focus is on the lives and struggle of ooNdlunkulu/Queen Mothers Sutu and Nonesi of amaRharhabe and abaThembu, respectively. An exploration of the vicissitudes of these women is also part of the growing herstoriographies of European invasion. Also explored is the theme of the making of ooNdlunkulu and how the institution was sustained. The study of the two women provides the researcher with information on the leadership exercised by these women within the matripotent-filial legacy of izizwe zamaXhosa and abaThembu. The main feature of this institution is its existence within a fluid inter-relational system that was appositional as against the matriarchy-patriarchy binary that dominates current academic studies.

Requeening queenright honey bee colonies with queen cells in honey supers.

Many Canadian beekeepers replace a subset of their honey bee queens annually. However, introducing a new queen to a honey bee colony is a management practice with a high degree of uncertainty. Despite the consensus that it is most effective to introduce queens to queenless colonies, some commercial beekeepers claim success with introducing queen cells into the honey super of queenright colonies. We tested the success rate of this practice by introducing queen cells to 100 queenright colonies in southern Alberta during a honey flow. The genotypes of the resultant offspring drones were determined using the microsatellite marker A76 to identify their laying queen mothers. Our results show that new queens successfully supersede original queens in 6% of queenright colonies, suggesting that the practice does not result in the new queen taking over leadership in most colonies. Additionally, supersedure by daughter queens is more common (13%) than new queen supersedure when introducing queen cells to queenright colonies during a honey flow. However, there could be a benefit to the practice of requeening queenright colonies with queen cells in honey supers if the colonies that accepted a new queen (whether a daughter of or unrelated to the old queen) were colonies with a failing queen.

Power and Play

Power and Play

On the Differences between Han Rhapsodies and Han Paintings in Their Portrayal of the Queen Mother of the West and Their Religious Significance

This paper argues that there exist two Queen Mothers of the West (Xiwangmu) in the Han era (206 BC–AD 220): one worshipped as a goddess of longevity and immortality by people from the upper class; the other worshipped by the ordinary people as a seemingly omnipotent deity with divine power over both the immortal world and the mortal world. This argument is based on a thorough comparative investigation of the surviving corpus of Han rhapsodies (fu) and Han paintings, the two major genres of art that give form to her cult in the Han period.

The Social Place and Roles of Queens and Queen Mothers in Mofolo's Chaka and Niane's Sundiata: an Epic of Old Mali

The Social Place and Roles of Queens and Queen Mothers in Mofolo's Chaka and Niane's Sundiata: an Epic of Old Mali

Midwives’ Experiences of Rural Maternal - Newborn Care in Ghana: A Phenomenological Inquiry

Midwives’ experiences of frontline healthcare delivery in rural maternal and newborn care have been minimally explored over the past two decades in low and middle-income countries but particularly in resource-limited settings, the situation is concerning. Understanding the dynamic influences that impact health care delivery in rural and remote settings is important for averting deaths, improving health outcomes and rural health care practice. Purpose: This study aimed to understand, unveil the meanings and articulate the experiences of midwives who practice in rural settings in rural Ghana. Sample: Thirteen (13) midwives who voluntarily participated in the study were purposively and conveniently sampled. Methods: Interpretive phenomenology that integrated African philosophy was used to explore and unveil the meanings embedded in the experiences of midwives practicing in South rural Ghana. Findings: The findings establish that midwives make sustained serial efforts to save maternal and newborn lives however, midwives’ ethnic background, age, gender and family situation influence their retention in rural health care settings where they work alone under stressful conditions as skilled care birth attendants. Community recognition and supportive community participation positively impact midwives’ practice in spite of unattractive living and working conditions. Future research needs to investigate the dynamic influences of chiefs, queen mothers and community leaders on emergency obstetric and newborn health care service delivery. Conclusion: The rural environment poses significant risks and barriers to safe and ethical health care delivery for women and newborns in Ghana. The intricate dynamics of midwives’ age and family life, limited support in skilled care delivery and community participation influences midwives’ intention to stay in rural practice. Keywords: Rural, Midwives, Pregnant Women, Labour, Newborns, Ghana DOI: https://doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v21i2.654

Stratification and Role of the Elite Muslim Women in the State of Awadh, 1742-1857

This paper focuses on stratification and role of the elite Muslim women in the State of Awadh during the second-half of the eighteenth, and first-half of nineteenth century India. It evaluates the categorization of women associated with the court and the division of political and domestic power among them. It also seeks their economic resources and their contribution in fields of art and architecture. The study finds that the first category of royal women of Awadh, including queen mothers and chief wives, enjoyed a powerful position in the state-matters unlike many other states of the time in India. Besides a high cadre of royal ladies, three more cadres of royal women existed in Awadh’s court with multiple ratios of power and economic resources. Elite women’s input and backing to various genres of art, language and culture resulted in growth of Urdu poetry, prose, drama and music in addition to religious architecture. The paper has been produced on the basis of primary and secondary sources. It includes the historical accounts, written by contemporary historians as well as cultural writings, produced by poets and literary figures of the time, besides letters and other writings of the rulers of Awadh. The writings produced by the British travelers, used in this paper, have further provided an insightful picture and a distinctive perspective.

Mobility study of young women who exchange sex for money or commodities using Google Maps and qualitative methods in Kampala, Uganda

ObjectivesWe aimed to assess mobility patterns and reasons for high mobility among young women engaged in sex work within a randomised controlled trial to gauge how mobility may hinder access to health services and enhance HIV risk in a highly vulnerable population.SettingParticipants were recruited from a clinic in Kampala, Uganda set up for women at high risk of HIV infection.ParticipantsAdolescent girls and young women engaged in sex for money and/or commodities are at particular risk in countries with high HIV prevalence and high fertility rates. High mobility increases exposure to HIV risk. Women participants were eligible for the parent study if aged 15–24 years, HIV negative and engaged in sex work. For this substudy, 34 qualitative interviews were held with 14 sex workers (6 HIV positive, 8 HIV negative), 6 health worker/policy makers, 3 peer educators, 5 ‘queen mothers’ and 6 male partnersMeasuresParticipants used Google Maps to identify work venues at 12-month and 18-month study visits. We also conducted 34 interviews on mobility with: high-risk women, male partners, health workers and sex-worker managers. Topics included: distance, frequency and reasons for mobility. We used Python software to analyse mapping data.ResultsInterviews found in depth narratives describing lack of education and employment opportunities, violence, lack of agency, social, sexual and familial support networks and poverty as a complex web of reasons for high mobility among young sex workers.ConclusionsYoung women at high risk are highly mobile. Reasons for mobility impact access and retention to health services and research activities. Strategies to improve retention in care should be cognisant and tailored to suit mobility patterns.Trial registration numberNCT03203200.

Women, Puberty Rites and Heterosexuality: A Case Study in Côte D’Ivoire

Since 2000 the International Community has focused on the promotion of women with actions and recommendations on gender equality between men and women and empower women. On closer analysis, Millennium Development Goal does not explain the status of women in reproducing society through heterosexuality in which women are in a position of power. The theoretical debate on heterosexuality feeds two contradictory positions, one considering it as natural because of the natural state of the sexes, man and woman, and the other modulating its argument by a cultural construction. From the cases of observation and analysis of the "Famian Blâ" puberty rites of Baoulé Iffou and "Yikèè" of Toura, women are configured in heterosexual relationships. Women are recognized by society as queen mothers or social generators and are culturally and biologically empowered to procreate and sustain the human species. The cultural symbolism of pubertal rites is to confer girls and thus women a social status through heterosexuality. But heterosexuality falls into a form of cultural constructivism with the development of forms of sexuality supported by the promotion of human rights. Homosexuality and other forms of sexual practices undermine the reproductive status of society supported by cultural symbolisms rites. The cultural symbolism of pubertal rites is to confer girls and thus women a social status through heterosexuality.

Bereaved Mothers and Masculine Queens: The Political Use of Maternal Grief in 1–2 Kings

AbstractRecent research demonstrates that maternal grief functions paradigmatically to epitomize despair and sorrow in the Hebrew Bible. These literary uses of maternal grief reinforce the stereotype of womanhood, defined by devotion to children and anguish at their loss. In 1–2 Kings, narratives about unnamed bereaved mothers are used politically to create a contrast with named biblical queens who lose their sons but never grieve for them. Although 1–2 Kings names the queen mothers alongside the male rulers, these mothers have no agency or when they do, they act more like men than women. Neo-Assyrian inscriptions attest the masculinity of royal female power, and this article argues that conceptions of royal female power in Judah were similar. By contrasting the masculine queens with stereotyped “real men” and “real women,” traditional gender performances literarily overcome the institution of queenship. While the queens are polemicized, unnamed mothers emerge as the female heroes of Kings. Royal female power is demoted beneath reproductive ability and emotional responses to children, while the gender fluidity of royal power is circumscribed.

Minding and Mending the Gap

Minding and Mending the Gap Kelly J. Murphy A review of Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers: The Theological Presentation of the Queen Mother in 1 and 2 Kings. By Ginny Brewer-Boydston. CBQMS 54. Pp. 232. Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association of America, 2016. Paper, $22.00. Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction. By Caroline Blyth. LHBOTS 652. Pp. 198. London: Bloomsbury T&T Clark, 2017. Cloth, $114.00. and Women of War, Women of Woe: Joshua and Judges through the Eyes of Nineteenth Century Female Biblical Interpreters. Edited by Mary Ann Taylor and Christiana de Groot. Pp. 288. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2016. Paper, $35.00. 1. Introduction "Though power has always been Delilah's aphrodisiac," writes Ann Spangler, the Philistines "tempted her with something even more seductive—cold hard cash."1 And with that cash in hand, Spangler explains, Delilah betrays Samson. In Wicked Women of the Bible, Spangler recites (an embellished) version of Delilah's story in a chapter entitled "A Wicked Girlfriend." Out of its twenty chapters, nine feature female characters from the so-called Deuteronomistic History: Rahab, Deborah and Jael, Hannah and Peninnah, Michal, Abigail, the Medium of Endor, Bathsheba, and Jezebel. This list reflects what biblical readers have long [End Page 373] noted—the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings include many stories of women, both named and unnamed.2 Moreover, Spangler follows an interpretive thread that runs throughout the world in front of these books: some of these women, like Delilah and Jezebel, are evil or wicked; others, women like Deborah, Hannah, and Abigail, are good (as in "wicked good" or "wicked smart").3 However, as others have noted, such binarizing tendencies distort these stories of women, which are often far less clear about whether they can easily be catalogued as "good" or "wicked." Even in the received text, sometimes framed by later editors to alert readers to how they should evaluate the ancient Israelites, the time period more broadly, or specific characters (e.g., "In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes"; "He did what was evil in the sight of the lord, walking in the way of Jeroboam and in the sin that he caused Israel to commit," etc.), the stories of many of these women are laced with lacunae. For example, in Judg 16:4–6, which we saw Spangler describe above, we read: After this [Samson] fell in love with a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. The lords of the Philistines came to her and said to her, "Coax him, and find out what makes his strength so great, and how we may overpower him, so that we may bind him in order to subdue him; and we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me what makes your strength so great, and how you could be bound, so that one could subdue you." (NRSV) In these three verses, the events appear to take place quickly: Samson falls in love with a woman named Delilah, the Philistines come to her with a demand and promise money, and she asks Samson for his secret. We are not told how Delilah feels, whether the Philistines give her the "cold hard cash," or anything about Delilah's motivation, much less that "power has always been Delilah's aphrodisiac." As we will see in more detail below, these elements—along with others—are filled in by later readers. The three books reviewed here—Mary Ann Taylor and Christiana de Groot's Women of War, Women of Woe: Joshua and Judges through the Eyes of Nineteenth Century Female Biblical Interpreters, Ginny Brewer [End Page 374] Boydston's Good Queen Mothers, Bad Queen Mothers: The Theological Presentation of the Queen Mother in 1 and 2 Kings, and Caroline Blyth's Reimagining Delilah's Afterlives as Femme Fatale: The Lost Seduction—each ask their readers, implicitly or explicitly, to "mind the gaps" in biblical texts and/or in their interpretive and reception histories, especially with an eye toward the binarization of female characters.4...

Promoting Partnership with Traditional Authorities in Development Projects: A Model for Community Infrastructure Project Delivery in Ghana

Promoting partnership with traditional Authority Project (PPTAP) was designed to translate into reality the vision of having our traditional leaders play pivotal roles in community devel­opment. The project was to test the role that chiefs, queen mothers and other opinion leaders could play in the decentralization of community development. In spite of the presence of some challenges with respect to project implementation such as slow pace in the payment of coun­terpart fund contribution, this novelty achieved spectacular successes. This paper discusses the results of a questionnaire survey that looked at the role played by traditional authorities and community involvement in infrastructure development for 40 selected communities in Ashanti region under the PPTAP, with support from the International Development Agency (IDA) of the World Bank and the Government of Ghana. The paper concludes that the inclusion of tradi­tional authorities in beneficiary communities helped in an accurate identification of community needs, minimization of cost incurred and high-quality workmanship as well as strengthened ownership. For community based development, the paper recommends a Tripartite Partnership (TTP), where Traditional Authorities work in tandem with the Public and Private Sector to ensure sustainable national development. PPTAP presents an excellent framework for such TPP arrangements.
 Keywords: Traditional Authorities, Community Based Project, Infrastructure, Development

Dansinkran Hairstyle Fashion and Its Socio-Cultural Significance in Akan Traditional Ruling

The value of hair to women seems to be succinctly expressed in the words of Martin Luther that ‘hair is the richest ornament of women’. For many women of African descent, hair is emotive, symbolic and an inseparable part of our identity. The objective of the study was to examine socio-cultural significance of Dansinkran in Akan traditional ruling. For this study, the researcher used personal interviews with some Akan Queen mothers on their Dansinkran hair styles and utilized qualitative research methods, with heavy emphasis on literature review. The researcher employed a case study design in the research. The study unravelled that; Dansinkran hair style enhances thinking capacity of the Akan Queen mothers as they used charcoal, it detoxify every chemical in the hair and allow the brain to function with its full capacity. The researcher recommends that in writing of our country history as a means to preserve and conserve it, the inclusion of history of hairdressing would make it richer and also add to the existing repository of knowledge. Keywords: Dansinkran, Culture, Hairstyles, Identity, Symbolic. DOI : 10.7176/JCSD/49-05 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

Neo-Assyrian Women Revisited

In her recent book, Svärd uses theories of hierarchical and heterarchical power to reveal how women wielded power within the highest echelons of the Assyrian Empire. Svärd determines that the queen occupied a distinct position in the state hierarchy, separate from the king, and that only one woman at a time could be queen. The queen could retain her post even after the king died, though the new king could replace her if he deemed it necessary. The king decided the queen mother’s role, depending on political circumstances. Both queens and queen mothers ran large, lucrative estates and participated in religious ceremonies. During the Sargonid period, military units were attached to their households. In some official spheres of action, their power could be qualitatively similar to that of the king, and in a crisis, they could even act for him. Other women associated with the palace, such as royal daughters, female administrators, and workers, were more apt to develop power heterarchically, through petitions, negotiation, or communication networks. Wishing to expand upon her theoretical approach, Svärd has studied diachronic changes in Assyrian queenship, concluding that the office developed to meet the needs of family and dynasty. In addition, I argue here that the demands of an expanding empire required the king to delegate authority to trusted relatives. Thus, as the empire reached its peak under the Sargonid kings, royal women naturally gained power and prominence, and kings benefited. For example, the queen’s prosperous estates and business ventures allowed her to help fund the military as well as some temples and building projects, and so defray the costs to the throne. All of this shows that Assyrian women had individual agency and authority, and could influence the king’s decisions. Despite the value of theory, it is also necessary to consider women individually, in the context of their times, and as they responded to unique circumstances.

Hygienic behaviour selection via freeze-killed honey bee brood not associated with chalkbrood resistance in eastern Australia.

Hygienic behaviour is a social immune response in honey bees shown to help provide resistance to honey bee pests and diseases. A survey of hygienic behaviour and brood diseases was conducted on 649 colonies in eastern Australia to initiate a selective breeding program targeting disease resistance and provide a level of resistance to Varroa (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman and V. jacobsoni Oudemans) mites should they become established in Australia. The test population showed a remarkably high baseline level of hygienic behaviour with 17% of colonies meeting or exceeding breeding selection thresholds. Colonies belonging to a breeding program were 5.8 times more likely to be highly hygienic and colonies headed by queens raised from hygienic queen mothers were 2.2 times more likely. Nectar availability (nectar yielding flowering plants within honey bee forage range) influenced hygienic behaviour expression but was not a significant predictor of level of hygienic behaviour. Surprisingly, hygienic behaviour was not a significant predictor of the presence of infection of the honey bee brood disease chalkbrood (Ascosphaera apis) and was not influential in predicting severity of chalkbrood infection in surveyed honey bee colonies. This study, along with reports from commercial beekeepers that chalkbrood infection is on the rise, warrants a deeper exploration of the host-pathogen relationship between Apis mellifera and Ascosphaera apis in Australia.

Sarah the gevirah: A comparison of Sarah and the queen mothers, of matriarchs in the dynastic succession of sons and nations

Abraham’s and Sarah’s struggle to produce a child is the first of the ancient Israelites’ struggles to claim the divine promise, individually and collectively. This struggle of the first patriarch and matriarch begins with Sarah’s barrenness and her resolve to find other means to produce an heir for Abraham and herself in Genesis 16. The first nine verses refer to Sarah as Hagar’s “mistress” or gevirah three times (vv 4, 8, 9). Initially, there is little doubt for the reader to be concerned about any question of terminology concerning the term title as Sarah is the mistress of the servant Hagar. The reader, however, encounters a slight problem when one compares the other texts in which the term appears as it is most frequently applied to the queen mother. What becomes evident when one explores these texts and compares their meanings and contexts is that Sarah’s story corresponds to the majority of the contexts of the use of gevirah, where succession of an heir is involved, which is that of the position of the queen mother. In order to demonstrate this similarity, I will first explore Sarah’s story where gevirah appears through the securing of her son and Abraham’s heir, Isaac, all of which centers around the importance of succession. I will follow the story of Sarah the gevirah with how those women given the title of gevirah also acted in matters of succession. I will conclude with the implication of this comparison, which is that gevirah represents a deliberate choice of terminology as this appellation foreshadows Sarah as the chosen matriarch who will carry the promised heir, and justifies the actions she takes in order to secure the succession of her biological son.

Of ‘prostitutes’ and ‘AIDS people’: Feminization of HIV and AIDS in South-eastern Ghana

In sub-Saharan Africa, more women than men live with HIV and women bear the largest proportion of the burden of care that is due to the epidemic. Only a few studies have documented the precise details of how women in countries with low HIV prevalence became the worst affected by the epidemic. In Ghana, the historical factors that account for high HIV infections among women and the emergence of women-led community-based HIV interventions have been less researched. This paper examines the historical (political-economic), cultural and personal factors that account for the high HIV prevalence in Manya Klo, the area worst impacted by HIV in Ghana. The paper presents the social history of the pandemic in Manya Klo and explains why Klo women are considered to be the sources of HIV in Ghana. It suggests that concentrating interventions on women helps to reduce the impact of HIV and inform national interventions. Women-focused interventions may, however, alienate other groups that can contribute to improving the lives of families affected by HIV. Therefore, women-focused interventions must be planned in a manner that engages multiple stakeholders.Keywords: Manya Krobo, queen mothers, female migration, female sex work, orphans and vulnerable children, community-based HIV initiatives

Between tradition and modernity – the role of chiefs in the national development and local governance in Ghana

Ghana is regarded as a leader of democracy and stability in Sub‑Saharan Africa. Owing to two decades of rapid economic growth and relatively peaceful transitions of power after elections, it is also one of the fastest developing and safest countries in the region. However, some challenges for internal stability and development are still to be addressed, for instance: the quality of leadership, poverty, environmental problems or inadequate and ineffective regulations. While solving these problems Ghanaian politicians and citizens have to either choose between or bring together both tradition and modernity. One of the aspects to analyse is traditional form of governance, in particular the role of traditional leaders, such as chiefs and queen mothers, in development, as well as their relationships and coexistence with the local and state government institutions. Therefore, this article focuses on understanding how traditional ways of thinking and acting, especially in the case of traditional leaders, influence Ghana’s strive for national development. The main questions are: whether they can be used as resources or rather constitute impediments? and how are they changing to address contemporary challenges?