Colonial Education and Women's Political Behavior in Ghana and Senegal

During Africa's anti-colonial movements, women in French colonies were less politically active than women in British colonies. Hern examines how differences in British and French education policies in the Gold Coast and Senegal between the 1920s and the 1950s shaped women's opportunities for participating in nationalist activity and becoming involved in early-independence politics. Compared to girls' education in Senegal, girls' education in the Gold Coast was more widespread, came from a variety of providers, and was less focused on domesticity. Women in the Gold Coast were thus more likely to be mobilized as political agents during the nationalist movement and integrated into Ghana's new independent government.