UNIVERSITY OF GHANA 

INSTITUTE OF AFRICAN STUDIES 

 

 

FOR GOD AND MAN: A STUDY OF THE CLERGY-WIFE 

 

 

BY 

 

ABENA KYERE 

ID: 10202542 

 

 

 

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA, LEGON IN 

PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF PhD 

IN AFRICAN STUDIES. 

 

 

 

 

 

   JULY, 2019



  
 

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DEDICATION 

I dedicate this work to Prof. AAA, Galax, Adjei, Adjetey, and Tei, for being my Gingams. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  
 

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

This Ph.D. journey has been one of the most teacher-able moments in my life, not just because it 

has been a hard road, but it has provided me the opportunity to experience immense support and 

love from various people. Finally, I get the chance to say thank you. 

I am first indebted to God, whose air I breathe and whose abundant grace has brought me thus far. 

This thesis would not have been possible without my willing respondents. I would like to say a big 

thank you to all those women who were brave enough to open up their lives to me and the rest of 

the world. I also acknowledge other participants who agreed to be interviewed as key informants 

and those who willingly participated in my focus group discussions. 

I am extremely grateful to my funders for their financial support. My tuition fees and stipend were 

funded through The Critical Investigation into Humanitarianism in Africa Blog (CIHA) fund.  

CIHA also funded my travels to various place for conferences. A remarkable thing about CIHA is 

members of the team became and still remains a family of academics who bring a human face to 

the sometimes grueling world of academia. I would like to particularly make mention of Prof 

Cecelia Lynch, whose kind heart has consistently taken a personal interest in my life. Again, CIHA 

blog offered their platform to me to practice and improve my writing skills as a graduate student. 

I must also acknowledge The Pan African Doctoral Academy (PADA) thesis completion fund 

which was timely in assisting me to bear some of the cost of this thesis. 

My heartfelt gratitude goes to my supervisory team: Prof. Akosua Adomako Ampofo, Prof Daniel 

Avorgbedor, and Dr. Acheampong. I am grateful to Prof Adomako Ampofo who made sure I 

started this Ph.D. journey with funding and has been pivotal in my academic journey. I thank Prof 

Avogbedor for his immense support and friendship and I am ever grateful to Dr. Acheampong for 

his patience. 

Gabriel Nkansah Opare, Jnr, I am extremely thankful for your timely presence in my life. As a 

research assistant, he showed such an interest in my work and he was ever ready to assist when 

called upon, even without monetary rewards. God bless you, my brother. 

I must thank the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA). I have experienced so 

much love from all the people who have passed through this wonderful centre. My heartfelt 



  
 

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gratitude to Prof. Akosua Darkwah, Dr. James Dzisah, Edward Gborgbor, Lydia Amoah and , 

Nicholas Ofori, and Makafui Kpedator and the wonderful Natiaonal service personnels who have 

passed through the centre. 

The Institute of African Studies has been my home since 2010 and has nurtured me to love and 

develop  critical skills needed for survival in academia. I thank all the faculty of this great institute, 

especially the director Prof. Tsikata for being my teacher and Rev Dr. Adasi for being my elder 

sister and spiritual mentor.  

I thank my friends Alice Merley Odonkor and Kezia Margaret Aryeetey for being true and faithful 

throughout my struggles. To my dear Ebenezer Bosomprah Gloria Sassah, Appiah Aryeetey and 

Lydia Amoah, and Solomn Ampadu. 

I thank my seniors, Dzifa Torvikey and Sewaa Afrifa for the words of encouragements and spirit 

of comradeship they provided throughout this journey.  

I have always insisted that I am the luckiest person on earth for the kind of family God gave me. I 

make mention of my mother, Comfort Ohenewa for being an extraordinary woman. Sisi, as we 

affectionately call my mother, has continuously bent over for my needs, even when it clearly 

inconvenienced her. She has never complained nor given up on me and has been the one to nurture 

and take care of my two sons so that I could have time to study. My mother has also allowed me 

to ‘eat’ from her cocoa and rent money so many times when the financial going got tough. I am 

forever indebted to her for her love and endless prayers. God bless my mother. I thank my brothers; 

Kwadwo, Kwame and Kwaku for making sure I had something to laugh about in the hard times 

and the endless financial support I received from them. You guys are simply the best. I owe my 

mother-in-law and sister-in-law a big thank you for babysitting on those times when I needed help. 

My Ph.D course mates have shown me that Ph.D can be fun. We have had good times together 

and have held each other up when the times were hard. I make particular mention of Edwin Asa 

Adjei, who held the fort on my behalf on countless occasions when I just could not do it. Edwin, 

the love you have shown is etched on my heart. 

One person who needs special mention is Eunice Dewi Kwao. She has proven to me on countless 

occasions that I can rely on her as a sister. She provided both emotional and financial support for 

me in this journey and was a pillar of strength when I lost my father in this period. Her countless 



  
 

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advice and calls, as well as the late nights she spent with me so that I could sit and write, will 

forever be remembered. I pray I get the opportunity to prove her worth to me. 

To my Sowahs; you guys have been amazing. I thank my husband Alex Adjei Sowah for being the 

man that he is. If I ever get the opportunity to write a Bible, my Proverbs 31 will read: “A good 

husband, who can find…” My two soldiers: Papa Nii and Ataa Tei, I salute you! Your presence in 

my life gave me a reason to keep at it, even when I felt like quitting. I love you boys. 

Finally, although my father .M. O. Appiah is no longer alive, I wish to say a big thank you to him 

wherever he may be. It was his dream that this day will happen. He did everything humanly 

possible to keep me alive and make a useful being out of me. He kept at it in moments when others 

would have simply given up. Words cannot describe my gratitude to him for introducing me to the 

pleasurable world of reading and knowledge. He was my first Gingam! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  
 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 

DECLARATION ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... i 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................ iii 

TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................ vi 

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ x 

LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xi 

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................. xii 

CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................................................. 1 

1.1 Introduction of the Study.................................................................................................. 1 

1.2 Statement of the Problem and Research Questions .................................................... 4 

1.3 Objectives of the Study .................................................................................................. 6 

1.4. A Brief Discussion of the Conceptual Framework .............................................................. 7 

1.5. A Brief Discussion of the Methodology .............................................................................. 9 

1.6. Significance of the Study ................................................................................................... 10 

1.7. Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................ 11 

1.8. Organisation of the Study ................................................................................................... 12 

1.9. Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 13 

CHAPTER 2 ................................................................................................................................ 15 

2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 15 

2.2. Gender and Power Relations in Ghana .............................................................................. 15 

2.2.1 Family Relations and Women’s Place in Society ...................................................................... 19 

2.2.2 The Political, Social and Economic Positioning of Women in Pre-colonial Ghana .................. 20 

2.2.3 Women, Marriage and Motherhood ........................................................................................... 22 

2.3. The Post-Colonial Context and Women’s Position............................................................ 27 

2.4 The Religious Context ......................................................................................................... 30 

2.4.1. The African Religious Worldview ............................................................................................ 30 

2.4.2 Introduction and Growth of Christianity in Ghana .................................................................... 31 

2.4.3. Protestant ( Mission) Churches ................................................................................................. 34 

2.4.4 African Initiated Churches (AICs) ............................................................................................. 35 

2.4.4.1 The Separatist, Secessionist, Schematics or Ethiopian Churches ....................................... 36 



  
 

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2.4.4.2. Spiritual Churches in Ghana .............................................................................................. 37 

2.4.4.3 Pentecostal Churches in Ghana. .......................................................................................... 38 

I make a distinction between Pentecostalism and Charismatics in this work because of some 

difference in practices and beliefs as will be discussed below. ...................................................... 38 

2.4.4.4 Charismatic Churches in Ghana .......................................................................................... 39 

2.4.5. Women and Christianity in Ghana ............................................................................................ 41 

2.5. Summary and Conclusion .................................................................................................. 45 

CHAPTER 3 ................................................................................................................................ 47 

3.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 47 

3.2. The Clergy-wife: The Past ................................................................................................. 47 

3.3. The Making of Women: Missionary Education and Ghanaian Girls ................................. 49 

3.3.1 The Best Girl for the Position .................................................................................................... 54 

3.4. The Clergy-Wife: Roles, Expectations, and Challenges .................................................... 57 

3.4.1 The Non-Ghanaian Case (Western and other African context) ................................................. 57 

3.4.2 The Ghanaian Case .................................................................................................................... 61 

3.5 The Clergyman .................................................................................................................... 66 

3.6. Conceptual Framework ...................................................................................................... 69 

3.6.1. Greedy Institutions .................................................................................................................... 69 

3.6.1.1 The Calling .............................................................................................................................. 69 

3.6.2. The Two-Person Career ............................................................................................................ 72 

3.6.3. Femocracy ................................................................................................................................. 73 

3.7 Summary and Conclusion. .................................................................................................. 78 

CHAPTER 4 ................................................................................................................................ 79 

4.1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 79 

4.2. Epistemological Considerations of the Study .................................................................... 79 

4.3. Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 86 

4.3.1 Research Design ......................................................................................................................... 86 

4.3.2 Study Area ................................................................................................................................. 87 

4.3.3 Research Participants and Sampling Methods ........................................................................... 87 

4.3.3.1 Participants .......................................................................................................................... 87 

4.3.3.2 Clergy-wives (CW) ............................................................................................................. 87 

4.3.3.4 Key- Informants .................................................................................................................. 88 



  
 

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4.4 Methods ......................................................................................................................................... 88 

4.4.1 Focus Group Discussions ........................................................................................................... 88 

4.4.2 Survey ........................................................................................................................................ 89 

4.4.3 In-depth Interviews .................................................................................................................... 90 

4.4.3.1 Size of Congregation ........................................................................................................... 91 

4.4.3.2 Visibility ............................................................................................................................. 92 

4.4.4 Observation ................................................................................................................................ 94 

4.5 Archival, Manuals and Audiovisual Materials .................................................................... 95 

4.6 Analysis ............................................................................................................................... 95 

4.7 Challenges Encountered in the Data Collection .................................................................. 96 

4.8. Ethical Considerations........................................................................................................ 99 

4.9 Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................. 100 

CHAPTER 5 .............................................................................................................................. 102 

5.1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 102 

5.2. Socio-demographic Characteristics of Respondents ........................................................ 103 

5.3. Roles Played by CWs in Church ...................................................................................... 104 

5.3.1. CWs Role as Leaders of Groups in the Church ...................................................................... 106 

5.3.2 CWs Role as Counsellors in the Church .................................................................................. 109 

5.3.3. CWs Role in Welcoming and Serving of Visitors .................................................................. 112 

5.3.4. CWs Role in Cleaning the Church .......................................................................................... 115 

5.4. Challenges Encountered as the CW ................................................................................. 116 

5.4.1 The Challenges CW Encountered as a Result of Expectations from the Church .................... 116 

5.4.2. The Challenges CWs Encounter as a Result of Lack of Time with and from Husband ......... 121 

5.4.3 The Challenges CWs Encounter as a Result of the Constant Transfer of Husbands ............... 123 

5.5 Privileges CWs Receive from the Church ..................................................................... 126 

5.6 The Joys that Come from Being a CW ............................................................................. 133 

5.7 Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................. 137 

CHAPTER 6 .............................................................................................................................. 139 

6.1. Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 139 

6.2. CWs Pathways to Power .................................................................................................. 139 

6.3. The Ways in which the Powers of CWs Manifest ........................................................... 144 



  
 

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6.3.1. Power through CWs Motherhood Positions ............................................................................ 144 

6.3.2. The Power Manifested as Role Models .................................................................................. 148 

6.3.3. Power Manifested through CWs Leadership of Groups ......................................................... 151 

6.3.4. The Power Manifested through the Possession and Application of Spiritual Gifts ................ 156 

6.4. Silences and Tension: Dynamics in the CWs Use of Power ............................................ 159 

6.4.1. The CW and her Husband ....................................................................................................... 159 

6.4.2. The CW and Assistant Clergy ................................................................................................. 164 

6.4.3 The CW and leaders of groups ................................................................................................. 166 

6.5. Summary and Conclusion ................................................................................................ 167 

CHAPTER 7 .............................................................................................................................. 169 

7.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 169 

7.2 Summary of Empirical Evidence and conclusion ............................................................. 170 

7.3 Implications for theory ...................................................................................................... 174 

7.4.  Limitations of the Study .................................................................................................. 178 

7.5. Recommendations and Implications for Further Studies ................................................. 178 

References .................................................................................................................................. 181 

APPENDIX I- ETHICAL CLEARANCE .............................................................................. 193 

APPENDIX 11-PROTOCOL CONSENT FORM ................................................................. 194 

APPENDIX 111- QUESTIONNAIRE .................................................................................... 198 

APPENDIX V- INTERVIEW GUIDES ................................................................................. 208 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  
 

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LIST OF TABLES 

 

Table 1: Composition of FGD with Church Members in various positions in Church ................ 89 

Table 2: Profile of interviewed CWs ............................................................................................ 93 

Table 3: Profile of Key Informants interviewed ........................................................................... 94 

Table 4: Biographical data of CWs ............................................................................................. 103 

Table 5: Roles CWs Play in the Church ..................................................................................... 104 

Table 6: Roles which CWs Play in the Church by Denomination .............................................. 105 

Table 7: Specific privilege received by CWs by denomination ................................................. 126 

Table 8: Type of persons who provides domestic service for CWs ........................................... 131 

Table 9: The joys derived by CWs ............................................................................................. 133 

Table 10: The joys derived by CWs by denomination ............................................................... 134 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  
 

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LIST OF FIGURES 

 

Figure 1: Conceptual Framework (Adapted from Bare, 1998 and Mama, 1995) ......................... 77 

Figure 2: Person who provides domestic service for CW by denominationError! Bookmark not 

defined. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  
 

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ABSTRACT 

The thesis captures the significant position of one of the most important and prominent women in 

the church- the Clergy-wife (CW). What this study set out to do was to interrogate the context-

specific position of the CW in Ghana by exploring the roles, challenges, and privileges of the CW. 

I sought to find answers to questions on the roles that CWs played in church and the challenges 

associated with the playing of these roles. I was further interested in the privileges and powers 

which the CW had and enjoyed as a result of her position. The thesis used a mixed-methods 

approach by employing a survey, in-depth interviews and observations to collect data to answer 

the study problem. I adapted various concepts such as greedy institutions, the two-person career, 

the calling of the clergyman and femocracy as conceptual frameworks. These were useful in 

understanding the ways in which CWs engage in their husbands work and the consequent effects 

of these involvements. The findings indicate that the roles CWs played most in the church were 

the leadership of groups, counselling, and welcoming and serving visitors. Other roles found were 

visitations, singing, preaching and cleaning. While these roles were the most played in all 

denominations, there were some variations within denominations. Some challenges were found to 

be associated with the playing of these roles while it was also found that other challenges emanated 

by virtue of their positions as CWs. The study further found that being a CW did not only entail 

roles and challenges. They also enjoyed some privileges and derived power from their positions. 

The privileges enjoyed were the special treatments received from church members whiles joys 

were those intrinsic fulfillment derived from their positions as CWs. On the issue of power, the 

thesis found that CWs primary source of power was through their husbands. However,  other 

means could be used by CWs to access more power or consolidate the power they already possess. 

The use of power was found to be a complex terrain with dynamics involving silencing, tensions 

and open conflicts. The work concludes that the position of CWs is different from that of other 

women because of their unique involvement in the husband’s work. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



  
 

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CHAPTER 1 

 

INTRODUCTION OF THE STUDY 

1.1 Introduction of the Study 

 

HELP WANTED: Pastor's wife. Must sing, play music, lead youth groups, raise 

seraphic children, entertain church notables, minister to other wives, have ability to 

recite Bible backward and choreograph Christmas pageant. Must keep pastor sated, 

peaceful and out of trouble. Difficult colleagues, demanding customers, erratic hours. 

Pay: $0. 1 

 

This thesis aims at interrogating the position of the clergy-wife in relation to her roles. Challenges, 

privileges, as well as the power dynamics inherent in her position. I argue in this thesis that the 

clergy-wife’s (CW henceforth) position is riddled with role expectations that lead to various 

challenges. I advance the argument by indicating that while it may seem demanding, the position 

comes with some privileges and the special place the CW occupies in the church can be a site for 

the production and use of power. 

Women’s contribution to the spread, growth, and development of Christianity in Ghana is well 

captured in the literature (Adasi, 2016, 2012; Darko, 2015; Gifford, 1994). They are known to 

have either contributed numerically, financially and in other significant aspects to the expansion 

of Christianity, especially in what has come to be known as the Charismatic and Pentecostal 

Movements (Oduyoye, 1995). A cursory survey of churches in Ghana today will reveal a biased 

population towards women, an indication that women continue to be an important backbone to the 

                                                           
1 (http://www.bobcornwall.com/2007/04/job-description-pastors-wife.html) 

http://www.bobcornwall.com/2007/04/job-description-pastors-wife.html


  
 

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development and survival of the church (PHC, 2010).  This work captures the position of one of 

the most significant and prominent women in the church; the CW. 

 For the purposes of this study, CW will be used to refer to any woman who is legally married to 

a man who has been ordained according to his denominational regulations and recognized as such. 

CWs may be referred to in the literature as Pastor’s wives, Ministers wives, and others according 

to denomination. I have however chosen CW in order to encapsulate all denominations that would 

be used in the study.  

There is a sense in which the CW is clearly a product of her husband’s position; even the language 

of description leaves no questions unanswered (Oduyoye, 1995).  Terhune proclaimed that in “no 

vocation does a man’s domestic relations so seriously affect his success” as in clergy-work. (Cited 

in Boyd, 1981:10). What Terhune meant was that the kind of woman who occupies the manse as 

the CW has a direct effect on the clergy-work. This is because the CW is expected to play certain 

roles and take on certain commitments if her husband’s work as a clergyman is to be successful.  

This is reiterated by Blackwood who notes that the CW is  “…a full-time partner in the most 

important work on earth and as largely responsible for her husband’s success or failure” 

(Blackwood, 1951:9).  

Finch’s work on CWs opens up with an instructive quotation from the Times of 1973: 

Of all the better halves, surely the wife of the cleric, at all levels from the clergy to the 

archbishop, is the most put-upon and influential working partner. Her share is likely to 

include public speaking, using her home as a public meeting house, teaching in a Sunday 

school, sitting up with the sick, training a choir, baptising a baby, to mention but a few of 

her likely tasks (1980:851). 



  
 

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The statement above leaves no room for further interpretations as it clearly shows that the woman 

who becomes the wife of the clergyman should expect a life full of tasks to undertake in order to 

assist her husband’s work. While the author concedes that this picture of an overburdened, unpaid 

wife could be from a Victorian era, she also notes that this picture is quite alive today because of 

the high propensity for CWs to conform and play along with the script due to ideological and 

structural conditions (Finch, 1980). Brunette-Hill (1991) also notes that although there seem to be 

changes in the experiences of the CW, age-old issues such roles played and challenges faced by 

the CW still persist.  

The position of the CW is a peculiar case because of the relationship between her and her 

husband’s work. The CW wife falls under the category of women who are expected to play active 

roles in their husband’s work in order for him to become successful although there is no formal 

agreement between herself and her husband’s employer (Sweet, 1983). Whether by design or 

accident, the CW is thrust into the very centre of her husband’s occupation. While the same might 

be true for the clergy husband, at present the data and literature are tilted towards women as a 

consequence of the fact that the church was late into admitting women priests into its fold 

(Brunette-Hill, 1991). 

While there are no prescriptive guidelines to assist the CW on how she should behave and the roles 

expected of her, CWs are expected to suppress their individuality, interest, and choices to that of 

their families and the churches (Koshy, 2005). Indeed, the summation of the CWs role in most 

literature is to help her husband’s ministry to grow by developing agreeable qualities (Rebuli, 

2008). In a final summation of the literature, an archetype emerges, the conforming, unsalaried 

overburdened CW, as the open anecdotal advertisement indicates. 



  
 

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It is common in the Ghanaian dispensation to hear a CW being addressed with one of such titles: 

Mummy, Mommy, Maa, First Lady, all titles that refer to one’s mother or leader. She is perceived 

as the primus inter pares of the women in the church, the leader and the mother of the church. In a 

book written by Faith Oyedepo (wife of a clergy), she notes that the position of the CW is a 

‘privileged and enviable one’ (2008:1). This she furthers to mean that they have been called to be 

a helpmeet to men who haves  higher calling than other men (Oyedepo, 2008). By extension, 

therefore, the CW has a higher calling than other wives.  

1.2 Statement of the Problem and Research Questions 

There is a striking difference between the global north and south in the historical antecedent of the 

development of the CW position. Finch (1980), notes that in Europe the CW was a symbolic 

representation of the Reformation and was thus looked upon with suspicion. Brunette Hill 

intimates that “the pastor's wife was a figure of both ridicule and disdain” (1991:2). 

Indeed, marriage by the priest was one of the greatest signs of rebellion against the Catholic 

Church. As a final breakaway step with the Catholic Church, Martin Luther and his fellow priests 

took wives to show their absolute break with the church (Benoit, 2010). These new wives (some 

of whom had been previously nuns) with  Luther’s wife Kate (Kathy Von Bora) as a prototype, 

were to do anything in their power to make their husbands work successful in order not to give the 

Catholic church and the society cause to mock the reformation and what it stood for. It was and 

still is incumbent on the CW to justify her legitimacy and justification “in terms of the value (to 

the minister himself) of the married state” (Finch, 1980:854). This justification included her values 

and contributions to her husband’s work, by playing certain roles and living up to some 

expectations thereby becoming the unpaid clergy. In its entirety, this picture does not ring true for 



  
 

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the case of Ghana because of the historical differences in the spread of Christianity on the African 

continent. Women who historically became wives of clergymen in Ghana were mission educated 

women, the first of their kinds and highly respected in society (Allman, 1994). This was because 

their husbands were some of the few educated Ghanaians who had direct access to Europeans, the 

English language, goods and services and all the trappings of westernization (Meischer, 2005). 

These women were married into a new society of marital spaces that held on to strong Biblical 

concept of “one flesh”.It should also be noted that by the time the Ghanaian woman became a CW, 

the position had long been established in the West. The Ghanaian CW, therefore,  did not have to 

bear the brunt of proving her worth or justify her need in a parsonage like her Westerner 

counterpart has had to do. Instead, they were considered a part and parcel of the enterprise from 

the onset, having married clergymen. Consequently, they held and continue to hold a special place 

in church and society. One belabors the point that the dynamics of the Ghanaian CW, although not 

extraordinarily different from her western colleagues, is bound to exhibit different dynamics. 

Furthermore, Christianity in Ghana has taken a turn of its own and has developed and 

metamorphosed in ways completely different from that of the global north (Jenkins, 2007). In most 

cases, new forms have sprung up and old ones have been modified and indigenised to suit the 

Ghanaian context. The growth of African versions of Pentecostals and Charismatics has resulted 

in different belief systems and practices in Ghana (Sackey, 2006). It is such modifications and 

adaptations that make the CWs situation in Ghana peculiar and in some cases different from that 

of the West.  Furthermore, clergymen hold special positions in the Ghanaian context and can be 

some of the most powerful and influential persons, with all the trappings of the traditional “big 

men syndrome” (Aubery, 2007). The close association drawn between the clergyman’s work and 

his wife means that certain roles may be expected from her and also any power the man holds is 



  
 

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likely to affect the woman.  Thus, in analysing the CW’s position in the literature, there is a clear 

gap in ways in which their roles and station can be a space that does not only make her just a 

“helpmeet”. It can become a vehicle through which she can enjoy certain privileges and powers 

that other women and even men do not enjoy in church. 

Although the fragmentary evidence is clear that the CW’s position is an important one, there is 

also a lack of substantive literature on the context-specific nature of the CWs’ work in Ghana, a 

country whose Christian population stands at a 71. 2% (Ghana Statistical Survey, 2010). While 

there are papers, theses, and book chapters that address the CW’s situation, one is yet to find a 

single work that brings together a discussion and analysis of the CW’s from different 

denominations in one study by interrogating their roles, challenges, privileges and power relations 

involved in such a position. 

This study  fills this gap by bringing together the experiences of the CW with the aim of 

interrogating the roles CWs play in church and the challenges they face as well as the privileges 

they enjoy as a result of their position. It further interrogates the ways in which the CW can access 

power, how this power manifests and some of the dynamics involved in the use of this power. 

1.3 Objectives of the Study 

The broader objective of the work is to investigate the CW and her socio-political positioning 

within the church. 

The specific objectives of this work are: 

1.  To investigate the specific roles and challenges of the CW. 

2. To understand  the privileges which the CW enjoys 



  
 

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3. To discover the ways in which the CW could access power, the ways in which this 

power manifests and the dynamics in the use of this power 

From the foregoing, the research will seek answers to these broad questions: 

 What are the roles and expectations of the CW? 

 What are the possible challenges and privileges of the CW position? 

 What are the power dynamics inherent in this position? 

1.4. A Brief Discussion of the Conceptual Framework 

In her study of the CWs, Bare, (1998) has noted that three important factors affect the life of a CW 

and thus make her unique from others: (1) the calling of the pastor husband, (2) the ministry as a 

greedy institution and (3) the status of the ministry as a two-person career (Bare, 1998). An 

exploration of these factors indicates that the life of the CW revolves around the church and its 

activities.  

The calling of the man is in connection with his work as a clergyman. The man is mostly the only 

person who experiences a spiritual encounter which is described as a calling. The clergyman then 

goes through training which is meant to prepare him for his work in the future. The calling also 

mostly means that his primary responsibility on earth is to serve God and the congregation, which 

pushes the wife into a second class citizen position. This breeds loneliness in the life of the CW. 

However, her need for attention breeds an inevitable sense of guilt; one developed from her fear 

of competing with God over her husband’s attention and time (Bare, 1998).  

A greedy institution is described as one that takes up the total and exclusive attention as an 

individual (Coser, 1974). The greedy nature of both her family and the church is another factor 

that pulls at the CW. Organised as a nuclear family, the man is the father, the wife is the mother, 



  
 

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and the congregation is the children. However, the CW may also have her nuclear family to take 

to attend. Just like in most nuclear families, the mother is expected to keep the family intact by 

supporting the husband and caring for the children. If the husband or the children fail, she is held 

responsible and yet she gets no form of support from any avenue. The CW is also expected to have 

the interest and welfare of congregants at heart as the mother of the church. A combination of the 

demands of these two institutions could be challenging for the CW. 

Finally, as noted earlier, the CW falls into the category of spouses who are expected to take up 

responsibilities with the goal of helping their spouse’s career to succeed, what is termed as the 

two-person career (Papaneka, 1974, Taylor and Hartley, 1975). This is a situation where only one 

spouse is employed but the other is expected to play certain active and direct roles in order to make 

the employed spouse’s occupation successful. The CW position has been recognized as a prototype 

of this situation. While a doctor, lawyer or commercial driver’s wife is not required to be directly 

involved in her husband’s work, in fact, it is advised they stay out for issues such as conflict of 

interest and a lack of experience, the CW is expected to be at the centre of affairs, holding the fort 

and doing the underground and backstage arrangements necessary for a successful performance. 

She is however not recognized for her contribution nor is she remunerated for her time and work. 

There is the unmentioned assumption that his job is her life (Brunnette-Hill, 1991). According to 

Bare, these three factors come together to define the CW position and make her life entirely unique 

from other wives. The woman who marries a clergyman is expected to undertake certain roles and 

live up to certain expectations as well as face the challenges posed by the nature of clergy work as 

a two-person career and a greedy institution. 

Although this framework is helpful in understanding how the CW work can be affected by who 

she is married to, it does not fully explain and capture the essence of all CWs position in Ghana. 



  
 

9 
 

This is because the different types of church denominations in Ghana could lead to some 

differences in the position of the CW.   

Due to the fact that the work is also interested in investigating the privileges the CW enjoys and 

the power that may accrue from her position,  I use the concept of Femocracy as used by Mama 

(1995) this concept interrogates the power of women who access power through their husbands. 

As a result of her close connection and involvement in her husband’s work, the CW may also 

derive some powers via the same route. 

An adaptation of Bare’s framework, together with Mama’s concept does provide a clear picture of 

the role of the CW. It showed that the roles which CWs play in church, the challenges they face 

and the privileges they enjoy are as a direct result of the calling of the husband, the two career 

nature of the work and the church as a greedy institution. It further afforded me the ability to 

explore the power of CWs as a direct consequence of their marriage to their husbands. 

1.5. A Brief Discussion of the Methodology 

The research was designed using a combination of both quantitative and qualitative methods.  

Scholars (Creswell, 2007 and Barbie, 2013) have argued that using a mixed-method design 

facilitates a nuanced interrogation of the question and subject of interest. While the quantitative 

method allows for understanding how widespread a problem is, the qualitative approach seeks to 

cover the depth (Creswell, 2012). The study used both primary and secondary materials in 

gathering data for the research. The quantitative aspect of the work was undertaken through the 

use of a survey. In all, a total of 134 respondents were reached and emerging patterns guided the 

development of more relevant and detailed questions for the in-depth interviews. The qualitative 

aspect was done through the use of a focused group discussion involving church members from 

various denominations as well as in-depth interviews with 33 CWs and 10 key informants.  



  
 

10 
 

Finally, the work employed observation in order to understand the dynamics which might not be 

obtained through a survey, focus group discussion or interviews. Observations involved attending 

women’s meetings, church services and other functions where CWs were invited or are the ones 

organising such events Thus, field notes and documented observations served as a supplement to 

other data which had been collected. The significance of employing such a method cannot be 

overstated. I also made use of manuals and books written as guides for CWs. These were books 

mostly written by CW who wished to share their experience with other CWs.  The data collected 

were analysed in two stages. The survey was analysed with the help of SPSS data analysis tool. 

The Focus group discussion, interviews, and field notes were then transcribed and grouped into 

themes according to the objectives of the work to argument the survey results. 

1.6. Significance of the Study 

It is clear that gender cannot be left out of any religious analyses, especially in Ghana. It has also 

become evident that the proliferation of churches and its significance in the lives of Ghanaians 

cannot be underestimated. The 2010 Ghana Population and Housing Census placed the Christian 

population at 71.2% with women being more than the men out of this percentage. Thus, women’s 

participation and roles in the church cannot be overemphasized. Indeed, as Soothill noted, for some 

women, the churches serve as “important physical spaces in which they found comfort, security 

and a sense of hope…the church was, quite literally, their second home” (2007:142). CWs become 

the centre of women’s organisations, especially in Charismatic and Pentecostal Movements. They 

serve as role models for both younger and older women in the church, serving as spiritual mentors, 

counselors, and fashion icons. The power they wield on women, especially younger women, is 

enormous. This places them in a powerful agentic role, making them critical agents of 

socialization, especially in situations where they are essentialised in terms of the message they 

carry out and teach both men and women. The fact that this is a field which has not been 



  
 

11 
 

extensively explored means the study will be a great addition to this field. It will further our 

understanding of the nature of the two-person career, the greedy nature of the church as an 

institution and how democracy operates in a religious setting. This will also serve as a starting 

point for scholars who may want to do further studies in this field as well as kindle interest for 

further studies. 

Furthermore, the position of the CW could be a potentially empowering and disempowering for 

her as a person and others whom she influences. This is especially critical when we consider that 

the central respondents under study are CWs who also happen to be one of the groups of people 

who are considered gatekeepers for “right” gendered behaviour in Ghanaian societies. It is my 

projected hope that the study will theoretically help to unravel how women, but especially CWs, 

organise their seemingly ambivalent positions and spaces into conventional patterns. This will also 

serve as an eye-opener on marriage as both a social and religious organizing structure and how 

both could be empowering platforms or otherwise to women. Additionally, as noted by Mama 

(1995) the power of women may go unchecked and unaccounted for, especially where such power 

is derived from the husband and considered as working towards the welfare of the husband. This 

requires that attention is given to such to these women, especially in the light of the recent cry in 

the country for the government to make laws that clamp down on activities and powers of pastors 

and by extension their wives in the country (Ghanaweb, 2019). 

1.7. Definition of Terms 

Denomination: A sub-group within a religion with similar practices, beliefs, and traditions. 

Clergyman: A man who has been ordained according to the rules of his denomination and 

recognized as such by their denomination. 



  
 

12 
 

Clergy-wife (CW): A woman who is legally married to a man who is a clergyman 

Assistant clergy: A clergy who acts as an assistant to the head clergy or stands in when the head 

clergy is absent. An assistant clergy is lower in terms of ranking to the head clergy. In Protestant 

and Pentecostal churches, Assistant clergies are sent to understudy a head clergy after seminary 

training or Bible School.  In Charismatic churches, assistant pastors could also be trainee pastors 

who are being trained by the head clergy. 

1.8. Organisation of the Study 

In chapter one, I introduce the study and problem under investigation. I provide the background to 

the study by showing how significant the CW position in relation to her husband’s work. I also 

discuss the statement of problem, objectives, as well as the significance of the study. The chapter 

also took a brief look at the conceptual framework and methodology employed for this study. This 

chapter also outlines the organization of the whole research and finally concludes the chapter. 

Chapter two of the work serves as the context chapter of the thesis. It takes a look at the position 

of women in both pre and post-colonial Ghana. It looks at issues such as women’s position in 

society in the African as against the West, women’s spaces within marriage and family and the 

changing phase of marriage. It also takes a look at women’s traditional authority, women’s 

participation in Christianity. 

Chapter three reviews the body of work available on the CW. First, I discuss the historical 

antecedent of the CW position in both the West and in Ghana. The chapter then discusses the 

different body of work on the CW both in the west and in Ghana with the consequent implication 

that there is a marked difference in the CW in these two different contexts. This chapter also 

discusses the roles and challenges of the CW, with a section paying attention to the significant 



  
 

13 
 

position of the clergyman. Different compositions of the conceptual framework used in the study 

are discussed thoroughly in this chapter. 

Chapter four takes a look at the methodological approaches employed in collecting the data for the 

study. I discuss both the quantitative as well as the qualitative means of data collection that were 

in gathering data for this study. The chapter also pays attention to issues such as the ways in which 

the data were analyzed, some the ethical issues as well as the challenges that well encountered in 

the study. I also discuss some of the epistemological issues of the study. 

Chapter five takes an extensive discussion of the roles, challenges that the CW experiences. I also 

take a look at the privileges and joys which the CW enjoy and derive for their position. This chapter 

used both the quantitative and qualitative data  for the analysis.  

Chapter six pays attention to the power dynamics present in the CW position. This chapter uses 

mostly data form Interviews with CWs and key informants with some support data from Focus 

group discussion and the survey. Specifically, the chapter looks at CW’s access to power, the ways 

in which these powers manifest and the dynamics involved in the use of power by CWs. 

Finally, chapter seven summarizes and concludes the whole thesis. It summarizes of all the issues 

that have been raised in various chapters of the work. It provides recommendations and 

implications for further studies. 

1.9. Conclusion 

This chapter has introduced the study and problem under investigation. It has been indicated that 

the CW position might be one burdened with roles and expectations, privileges and well as a site 

for the production and use of immense power. It has also discussed the objectives, problem 



  
 

14 
 

statement, theoretical framework as well as the significance of the study. This chapter also outlines 

the organization of the whole research and finally summaries the chapter.



 

15 
 

CHAPTER 2 

Ghanaian Women: The Cultural and Religious Context 

2.1 Introduction 

In the sections that follow, I discuss the cultural and religious context and women’s position in 

relation to men, especially in marriage and in power structures. The first section generally looks 

at the idea of power and the ways in which  men and women are socialized to use power and 

maneuver their daily lives. This is then followed by women’s position and place in society in pre 

and post colonia Ghana, with emphasis on marriage and motherhood. The religious landscape of 

Ghana, with particular emphasis on Christianity, is then discussed.  I take a look at the historical 

context of the growth of Christianity, the different dimensions of this growth, and the particular 

role of women in the growth and sustenance of Christianity. Finally, I conclude on the issue of 

how the twin institutions of Christianity and colonialism have played major roles in diminishing 

and weakening, women’s position in the Ghanaian society. 

2.2. Gender and Power Relations in Ghana 

Gender continues to be an important marker in assessing men and women’s lives in various 

societies, especially in Ghana (Adomako Ampofo et al. 2004). This is because men and women’s 

roles, privileges and challenges encountered in their bid to maneuver daily life are a direct 

consequence of their social categorization as men and women. Again, because gender is culturally 

ascribed and socially inculcated (Adomako Ampofo, 2002; Cusack, 1999), individuals, both men, 

and women learn very early in life what is expected of them and what they are entitled to in life 

and ways considered proper gender behaviour. This learning process is acquired through the 

socialization process of children, by instilling the norms, values, belief systems and general 

cultural practices of the people.  Adomako Ampofo and Boateng (2009) reveal that the 

socialization of boys and girls into men and women is an important site for the formation of 



 

16 
 

gendered identities. While the family is bestowed the responsibility of a primary socialization 

agent, there is no doubt that other institutions such as religion and education serve as equally 

powerful agents of socialization (Badasu, 2009). Inherent in socialization is the allocation of 

important resources such as power. The presence, use, and manifestation of power differs from 

society to society, however it’s acquisition and distribution have universal attributes. 

It is generally agreed that the presence of power makes one do what one would otherwise not do. 

Thus, A has power if A is able to get B to do what B would otherwise not do or what A wants 

(Dhal; Danzinger, 1998).  A’s power over B can be legitimatized through three main routes: force 

(Coercive power), Exchange (Economic power) or mutuality (Integrative power). The threat of 

physical force or the actual use of it leads to A’s power over B.  In the second, A’s access to certain 

resources and threat of denial of those resources to B leads to a modification in B’s behaviour, 

hence A’s power. In the third, Integrative power, B’s feeling of moral and social obligation, 

affection and loyalty to A in some ways gives A power over B.  In some instances, A will yield to 

B so that their collective power will give A and B an advantage over C. In such a scenario, the 

benefits accruing to B will be worth B’s loss of power to A (Danziger, 1998).   

It is common place throughout history on women in Ghana, and even in this present study to find 

that women experience the Exchange and Integrative power more in their various dealings, 

especially with men and their husbands. For instance, a woman will be found to co-operate by 

providing extra money for child welfare and household upkeep because of affection and loyalty 

towards her husband (Abu, 1983). In other instances, they may submit to their husbands because 

of fear that men may pull their financial support from them and their children (Clarke, 1999).  



 

17 
 

Foucault’s revolutionary work on power, on the other hand, is premised on the fact that individuals 

are moulded and “refined” overtime to behave in certain “docile” ways which lead them to 

automatically obey authority. Although such individuals might think they decide out of their own 

free-will, this I s actually the work of a knowledge system that tells us what is and what is not 

(Brodie, 2005). The fundamental thesis of his argument is that knowledge production is power 

production and that the producers of knowledge are powerful and recipients of this knowledge 

subservient to the producers. He continues that power is embedded in all forms of our social 

institutions, disciplining us into order so much so that before we act, take decisions and make 

choices, we have been “coerced” into acting according to a written script. Using his famous 

analogy of the panopticon where the prisoner eventually disciplines himself into acting right even 

when not being observed. One is quick to apply Foucault to our understanding of the importance 

of socialization. As gendered beings, whose ideas and ideals have been acquired through years of 

training, observation, and practice, men and women are prone to choose scripts which they have 

imbibed over the course of their socialization process. Indeed, it has been noted that socialization 

becomes the site where power and male privilege is produced (Adomako Ampofo and Boateng, 

2009). 

Foucault is not without critics, the most basic of which is the point that his conceptualization leaves 

out human agency. Indeed, while women are a product of their socialization and would have thus 

been expected to act according to scripts of being obedient and subservient to men, it will be noted 

below that the power within the marital relationship was and still remains a complex web of 

choices, conflicts, negotiations and co-operations among Ghanaian women and their husbands. 

This shows that these women may not necessarily act because of their “script” but as a result of 

the intricate situational case. 



 

18 
 

However, Foucault’s work is also significant in our understanding of how power operates between 

men and women in society. Occupying a place of authority has meant men would have more power 

since they have been in charge of creating the knowledge of society. Also, especially in religion, 

since it is one of the focus areas of this work, Foucault’s argument is useful in our understanding 

of why the clergy and anyone associated with them, such as their wives are deemed powerful and 

deserving of reverence. The general consensus that they hold claim to divine knowledge is enough 

to guarantee them a place on the power ladder. Furthrmore, the Clergy do not just lay claim to any 

power, but a traditional form of power that has its source in the divine.  

The sources of power are many among which include; one’s lineage, vast wealth, an overwhelming 

election win, an autocratic or repressive regime, a claim to the divine call, a gift of eloquence or 

charisma and so on (Magstand and Schotten, 1996).  For women, especially in certain societies 

and in some circumstances, a marriage into a wealthy and powerful family was bound to be a 

source of power. The history of most western societies has shown that a woman could be powerful 

and considered royal if she married a king, prince, royal or a nobleman. Empirical work on first 

ladies of presidents in Ghana and Nigeria indicate that a woman could use her husband as a route 

to power and develop further power that could go unchecked and unaccounted for, what some 

authors’ term as femocracy, (Aubrey, 2001; Mama, 1995). This is new to the Ghanaian case as 

will be shown below. This is because marriage did not necessarily translate into power. Granted, 

a woman could improve her social standing or access some resources through her husband, 

however, mostly her power derived mainly through her lineage, her reproductive abilities, and her 

own resourcefulness and economic enterprise (Oppong, 1987). 

 



 

19 
 

2.2.1 Family Relations and Women’s Place in Society 

Women, just like anyone in the society belonged to any of the under-listed; their mother’s family, 

known as matrilineal inheritance, their father’s, the patrilineal inheritance and both, bilateral 

inheritance (Nukunya, 2003; Nukunya, 1969, Fortes, 1965). This is also in consonance with whom 

one can inherit from and what type of goods a woman could have access to if any at all. It has been 

documented that women who inherit in matrilineal lines, normally practiced among the Akan fare 

better in terms of inheritance and access to resources such as land than those in patrilineal lines 

(Duncan, 2010). Generally, however, women had access to family property such land and while 

those from the matrilineal group could directly inherit from the family common land, those from 

the patrilineal group could gain access through their husbands and sons. This puts such women in 

precarious situations since a spinster, widowed or sonless women could by themselves not have 

access to the use of family resources. A woman had the support of each side of her family, although 

the one she belonged to had the strongest claim to her. Even though she might be married, a woman 

was expected to dispense some responsibilities towards her natal family and in turn, she was also 

assured of family support in times of need (Overa, 1993). For instance, a woman who was 

constantly maltreated by her husband was always assured of the support of her brothers or another 

male ‘brothers’ in her family in disciplining her husband back to his senses. Indeed, Sackey (2006) 

has noted that divorce was not the prerogative of only males and a woman, especially in an Akan 

society could always return to her family if the marriage failed. This made marital bonds more 

fragile than familial relations, especially among the Akan. The family thus provided women with 

the network of social support they needed and also afforded them the opportunity to fall on the 

support of kin and kith as well as other mothers in the society in bringing up and socializing their 

children.  

 



 

20 
 

2.2.2 The Political, Social and Economic Positioning of Women in Pre-colonial Ghana 

Ghanaian societies were orgainsed into various socio-economic and political spaces and women 

had spaces allocated to them to participate in the day to day administration of their society. Women 

could hold positions in their own right as individuals and they had the right to participate in the 

activities of the society like any other free-born male. They could join associations deemed fit for 

women without the express permission of their husbands and some female cults were so secretive 

that it was a taboo for non-initiates or men to know about the activities of these cults. Politically, 

women could occupy positions; go to war and take part in almost other activities just like men. 

One of the most prominent political positions, especially among the Akan was that of the queen 

mother. It was she who selected the next king and she could initiate the process that destool a king. 

She was a core member of the core council of the king’s court and had her own court (Amoah, 

2011; Manuh, 1988).  She was the custodian of the culture, mores, and history of the society and 

this role was especially significant since it was her knowledge in history and lineages that helped 

in the smooth transition and enstoolment of rightful heirs. As the mother of the king and the 

“mother” of the whole society, her court was a refuge for those running from the king’s court and 

her wisdom was sought in difficult matters as one of her titles “abrewa”” (Akan word for old 

woman) signified the embodiment of wisdom (Arhin 1983; 1985). The queen mother was thus a 

powerful entity and her power did not flow from her marital affinity or association to any man 

(Farrar, 1997). Rather, the source of her power was through descent and this was acquired through 

the female line and was parallel to that of the king. Indeed, almost every form of office or power 

acquired in Akan land was by descent and through the female bloodline. Generally, menopausal 

women could engage more in decision making and ritual process or hold the office since their 

biological makeup at this time and their age made it more appropriate. Their age translated into 



 

21 
 

wisdom while their biological state made them ‘spiritual’ desirable due to a lack of the fear of the 

menstrual blood. While the institution of queen-ship was not as established in other parts of pre-

colonial Ghana as was among the Akan, women in other groups also played significant political 

roles. Among the Ga for instance, although the line of descent was patrilineal, women were 

recognized as central to the political organization. Women sat on the council of elders and partook 

in important decisions that affected the people. Women on the council were recognized to be of 

the same status as men, especially as they aged and their words and views equal weight as that of 

the men (Westwood, 1974). Among the Dagaaba of northern Ghana, while women did not hold a 

specific political position, the oldest wife (yii dampona) of every lineage played the important role 

of accompanying the lineage head everywhere in went and was therefore preview to decision 

making. When kingship was finally established among the Frafra and Mamprusi, the wife of the 

king played acentral role in the enskinment of a new king. They were responsible for the king’s 

regalia (Odame, 2014). Women were thus very central to the political organization in their societies 

through the performance of various roles. 

Further, women went to war and women were known to harbour weapons in their atofo-the  

improver (Aidoo, 1985).  However, those who remained at home had the power to sing songs 

known as mmomome, sneer songs directed at men afraid of the war front. They could also make 

songs that jeered at men who run from the war front. The express aim of such songs was to drive 

such men into committing suicide (Allan et. al, 2005; Arhin, 1983).  Such roles of women 

sometimes provide some of the evidence of the pervasiveness of female power.  It was women 

who urged men to war in all known Ghanaian cultures and also had the power to mock weaklings 

to death!  



 

22 
 

The western concept of a fragile, male dependent and domesticated woman who relied solely on 

male benefactors was indeed alien to the Ghanaian woman. Women engaged in various economic 

ventures with or without their husbands and enjoyed some forms of economic individualism not 

known to Western women. As farmers, women could sell the produce from their farmers, collect 

seeds and fruits from their husbands or communal land for sale. Women in the coastal regions 

engaged in the marketing of the catch their husbands made from fishing. Indeed, women 

participated in long-distance trade and even in recent times women are still at the helm of economic 

activities and are actively involved in multinational and transnational trading (Darkwah, 2003; 

2002). Women’s economic activities were very significant in their identities as women. A hard-

working woman was valued and well respected and a lazy woman was abhorred and ridiculed. 

Contributions from economic activities were mostly used to supplement the provision of the family 

or augment the “chop money” provided by the husband (Adomako Ampofo, 2005; Abu, 1983). Of 

course, such resources were also invested back into the businesses or could sometimes be given as 

load to the husband. A woman’s economic contribution or even her access to and control of income 

had a corresponding effect on the power she had (Boserup, 1970). A woman who had her own 

sources of income was not a dependent and therefore had a say not just in the welfare of her 

children, but also in the marital relationship and in her own kin group (Overa, 1993). While such 

a woman was an asset to both her family and husband, she could also be perceived as a threat, 

especially by the husband (Abu, 1983). 

2.2.3 Women, Marriage and Motherhood 

Marriage was and still continues to be an important institution among Ghanaians. It could be at 

once empowering and disempowering to women in every Ghanaian society (Adomako Ampofo, 

2005). Because marriage is seen as one of the most important unions in society, a lot of importance 

is attached to it and married women are accorded more respect than spinsters (Soothill, 2012). 



 

23 
 

Indeed, one of the markers for consideration of any office or one’s maturity was one’s marital 

status. Marriage was the sanctioned means through which men and women could produce and 

populate both their lineages and society. Vallenga (1983), notes that among the  Akan for instance, 

there could be numerous types of marriages; those between free borns, free-born and slave, royals, 

royal and non-royal, citizen and stranger and so on. While there are numerous rites performed by 

different groups in Ghana, the very basic rule was that some form of gifts, mostly symbolic for 

most ethnic groups, were exchanged between families, normally moving from the man’s to the 

woman’s family (Assimeng, 1999; Bortei-Doku Aryeetey and Kuenyehia, 1998). This signified a 

form of compensation for the lost labour and services of the woman and to give a communal 

legitimacy to the union. There were different residential arrangement associated with marriage. 

There were those who practised virilocal, duolocal, avunculocal, patrilocal, matrilocal, neolocal 

and in some instances a household consisted of different hearth-holds and the essential or core unit 

of organisation constituted of all those who ate from the same hearth-hold (Ekejuiba, 1995). Many 

benefits accrued to women who practiced the duolocal living arrangement. Such women had the 

independence to undertake their own economic activities and had the freedom to live with their 

own family. This also provided women the network of support they needed for childcare so that 

they could engage in their personal dealings (Abu, 1983). Those who practiced the patrilocal 

residential arrangement also had the support of husbands financial support and in the discipline of 

children although they did not enjoy as much freedom of movement as those in duolocal 

arrangements. Women who had co-wives had also had more room to operate since spousal duties 

were shared among wives. 

However, marriage was one of the most ambivalent social unions. This is as a result of the loose 

bonds of the marital relationship caused mostly by lineage and kin affiliations and the potential of 



 

24 
 

marital rivals with its consequent result of insecurity and mistrust (Takyi, 2007: Clark, 1999; 

Oppong, 1974). The tensions resulting from these feelings mostly led to individualism in marriage 

and wives and husbands were not perceived as “one body and soul” upon marriage. Indeed, in very 

few cases where two young people could be “love birds”, marriage was generally considered a 

matter of “familial alliance than of individual choice” (Ware, 1983:23; Mikell, 1997).  

Generally, while spousal co-operation was practiced, the husband and wife also kept independent 

economic purses and could conduct other related social and economic activities unrelated to their 

spouse (Abu, 1983). In the day to day maintenance of the household, the man was expected to 

provide the “chop money” or the maintenance money and in a farming community the meat and 

salt for food. The wife is then expected to provide everything else. While the wife’s contribution 

is mostly reduced to the level of “supplement”, some authors have indicated that these 

contributions by women indeed formed the highest proportion of the two (Clarke, 1994).  Wives 

and husbands could work as partners as in case of the Winneba fisher folks described by Hagan 

(1983). Men engaged in fishing and relied on their wives to do the selling, management, and 

keeping of the returns. Wives were given a certain percentage as payment for their role and retained 

the rest as safe keeping for their husbands. A wife who mismanaged or was unable to make a 

proper account to her husband risked being divorced (Hagan, 1983). Among farmers, wives 

cooperated in making farms with their husbands and were allocated plots where they could grow 

condiments for sale, as a form of payment for their labour.  

In situations where wives have contributed to the production of cash crops such as cocoa, she was 

entitled not only to the food crops that were grown on the farm, the husband makes or assists her 

to make her own cocoa farm (Duncan, 2010; Okali, 1983). This served as compensation for her 

woman’s labour and also as a form of insurance upon the death of a husband. This applies mostly 



 

25 
 

in matrilineal societies where a man’s properties pass to his sister’s children after his death and a 

woman and her children could be disinherited in such circumstances (Korang –Okrah and Haight, 

2015; Awusabo Asare, 1990). However, among patrilineal groups, properties passed to male 

children, although female children could also inherit but were not entitled to as much as male heirs 

(Nukunya, 1969). This also meant that if the man had no sons, the properties passed to his brothers 

or other male family members. This could spell trouble for a woman who did not have sons or was 

not on good terms with her late husband’s brothers. Furthermore, if there were co-wives and other 

children, women were not assured of inheriting as much as they had invested. 

 This made marriage a very precarious enterprise for women and therefore led to a lot of marital 

bargainings, negotiations, and co-operations between wives and husbands. Women would co-

operate with husbands to provide for the family and the especially the children while making 

provisions for themselves as personal insurance in instances of a husband’s death or divorce.  

Thus, wives and husbands co-operated as partners to their own personal ends and as Arhin, Abu 

and Okoli have indicated, a woman who feels that her interests are not of immediate consequence 

to her husband is likely to cut her losses and divorce (Abu, 1983; Arhin, 1983).  

Indeed, the power pendulum could swing in favour of men and women at different points in the 

marital process. There were separate economic purses and a woman was not required to account 

her financial status or declared her profits to her husband, unless she had been expressly sent by 

her husband to sell certain goods. Further, whereas a woman could demand financial support, 

especially for children, a man could not. The fear of the husband acquiring other wives or engaging 

in extra-marital affairs, especially in younger marriages meant that husbands had more power in 

the marriage at this time. However, older wives who did not have the responsibility of childcare 



 

26 
 

and had older children could rely more on the support of children (Oppong, 1987). Moreover, the 

age of such women meant they would have made some financial accumulation and their free time 

also translated in their ability to engage in more economic ventures. In such scenarios, husbands 

found that the power turf had been divided between them and their wives or had shifted towards 

the women. Women were thus not powerless in the face of grinding inequality, especially in 

marriage.  

A wife in the child-birthing period of marriage or one with younger children found herself 

submitting to her husband for fear that anything contrary could lead to a husband pulling his 

financial and general support from her and the children (Adomako Ampofo, 2000). While the 

status of a woman’s husband’ had some effect on her own social standing, of greater significance 

was her birthing ability in the marriage. In other words, women were  powerful as mothers. A 

woman in a matrilineal society was responsible for populating her matrilineage as the descent is 

reckoned through her and her offspring.  Clark for instance notes that, “Motherhood is central to 

female gender ideals for the Asante, as in many cultural systems” (Clark, 2000:2), while it has been 

noted elsewhere that “Motherhood is so critical in most traditional societies in Africa that there is 

no worse misfortune for a woman than being childless” (Akujobi, 2011:3). In almost all societies 

in Ghana, motherhood was and continues to be considered very germane to a woman’s existence. 

A woman’s importance and power derives from the children she is able to have and especially in 

Patrilineal societies, a woman who had sons was powerful and secured since she could have access 

to resources through them. She was assured in most cases of the reverence and labour of future 

daughters-in-law and the support of her children even in old age. Furthermore, the bond created 

between mothers and their children extends throughout life and this means that mothers tend to 

have power in the life of their children (Rhiannon, 2013). Mothers are known to influence crucial 



 

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decisions such as choice of marriage partner, the number of children their children have and in 

some cases have general control over the course their children’s life take throughout their life span. 

Indeed, the idea of motherhood and its associated responsibilities and power is captured in the 

institution of the Akan queen mother. The queen mother is a macro representation of a mother and 

acts as the mother of the nation. Thus, she is expected to nurture her children, attend to their needs, 

and reprimands erring children. Her court serves as the last resort to offenders. Her motherhood 

position also provided her immense powers as the one who could select the new king (Boaten 1, 

1992; Arhin, 1985). 

Thus, women’s position in society was not a static state but rather a process of constant movement 

and engagement in society and a continuous process of complex socio-cultural setting. 

2.3. The Post-Colonial Context and Women’s Position 

It has been documented that women’s power and access to resources in relation to men underwent 

a drastic change because of the twin institution of culture and religion and these changes continue 

to remain detrimental to their positioning even in modern Ghana (Gadzekpo, 1999). While 

Ghanaian women did not live in a utopia and the gendered nature of society created male privilege, 

women were not necessarily helpless victims of a patriarchal society.                                                                                                                        

For instance, the marital arrangements discussed above indeed offended the moral sensibilities of 

Europeans and Christians who came to Africa. They had immigrated from a culture where 

marriage reduced individuals to half of each other and the marital couple was required to work 

together, establish their own nuclear family and acquire properties for themselves and their 

offspring (Shadle, 2006; Oyewumi, 2003; Aidoo, 1985). This idea was to be instituted into the 

Ghanaian society through the church and women’s independence and power in marriage was 

gradually eroded. First of all, marriage was not considered “complete” especially for a Christian 



 

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until it had been blessed by the church or the objects for the marriage had been inspected by the 

elders of the church (Obeng, 1996; Vallenga, 1983). This took away some part of the family’s role 

as the negotiator and contactor of all marital affairs. Moreover, the wife was expected to be 

domesticated, staying at home, taking care of children, and husband, and the household in general. 

This created theconcept now known as “house-wife”, the woman who had no form of employment, 

stayed at home to undertake household chores and become economically dependent on her 

husband.  

Additionally, the nucleated nature of the family meant that a wife no longer had the help of kin 

group in organizing her life, could not fall on their total support in times of trouble and thus relied 

solely on her husband (Adomako Ampofo and Prah, 2009). This invariably ruled out interference 

from family members and a woman in an abuse likely to suffer without the knowledge and support 

of family. Wives now had the same financial purse with their husbands. This practice that could 

backfire badly in the face of some women, as such women did not have the same independent use 

of their own resources (Vallenga, 1983). However, the drive to totally take over and revise the 

cultural practices surrounding marriage has not always been successful as the uproar against the 

marriage ordinance of 1884 showed. The inconsistencies of the marital practice introduced and 

imbibed indicate the failure of the received practiced. For instance, while polygamy is condemned 

and monogamy hailed as the ultimate, there is evidence that in real practice, men who claim to 

practice monogamy have a litany of mistresses and girlfriends, sometimes known to the wife 

(Assimeng, 1993). t he demonization of arranged marriages and the celebration of love and 

individual selection of marital partner as the true way to marital bliss have not always proven to 

be true. The reasons for such failures are not far-fetched. 



 

29 
 

Moreover, although the nuclear family is hailed as the ideal and most Ghanaians seem to move 

towards that family arrangement, the extended family system continues to play a significant role 

in the lives of individuals. Indeed, important rites of passages such as marriage, childbirth and 

funerals cannot be successfully organized or deemed legitimate without the presence of the 

extended family. Adomako Ampofo, for instance, discovered that while spouses are the ones 

involved in taking reproductive decisions, she cautions that researchers pay attention to the role of 

the extended family in such private matters. This is because the extended family continues to play 

an influential role in the lives of individuals, even in the case of such private matters (Adomako 

Ampofo, 2000). 

Furthermore, especially in the new Christian movement, the theology on marriage and marital life 

and the Christian home are rather ambiguous. While on the one hand the home and marriage are 

projected as egalitarian, other messages teach women to be subordinate and submissive in playing 

their wifely duties since men are the head of the household. Such messages present conflicting 

sometimes ambivalent roles for both men and women (Adomako Ampofo, 2012). This is a matter 

of concern as it has been noted that the church, like other modern institutions, has gradually 

usurped the socializing role of the family. 

In all other various aspects of their lives, colonialism and encounters with western Christian 

religion wiped out most of women’s  powers in the traditional society. In the political space, the 

colonial powers refused to recognize female power as complementary to male authority. Indeed, 

the fact that such could occur and that women could hold power was absurd to the colonial 

authority (Sackey, 2006). Religions, in the form of Christianity, also succeeded through their 

education to silence women in religious spaces, curtail their personal religious experience while 

using their labour and resource to build and grow Christianity. Women were taught through the 



 

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Pauline injunction to remain silent, submit totally and wholly to their husbands (Sackey, 2006). 

Such submission also included forgoing economic ventures that had initially marked the wife as 

economically independent from her husband (Oppong, 1985; Mikell, 1997). When education was 

introduced, men received the kinds of education that prepared them for work in civil service and 

offices whereas women were educated to be wives to these men. In all aspects of life, economic, 

political and social, men are more advantaged than women (Manuh, 2009). The position and 

participation of women’s role in Christianity whuch was also introduced by westerners is no 

different from the picture that has sofar been discussed. 

2.4 The Religious Context 

In the sections that follow below, the religious worldview of the Africa and Ghana is first 

discussed. This is them followed by the introduction of Christianty into Ghana. The next section 

will be an exposition of the women’s participation in Christianity in Ghana 

2.4.1. The African Religious Worldview 

In Africa, there are two world views-the first is spiritual inhabited by God, the supreme being, the 

other divinities, ancestor and other spirits, while the physical is inhabited by man and all the 

elements present (Sackey, 2012). The physical and the spiritual are not two separate entities, for 

they are in constant interaction and very much dependent on each other. Religion is of paramount 

importance in the life of the African and religion to the African is an everyday practice, in fact, 

religion is simply a part of the life of the African. Opoku has rightly noted that, “religion, therefore, 

becomes the root of the African culture and it is the determining principle of the African life. It is 

no exaggeration, therefore to say that in traditional Africa, religion is life and life, religion” 

(1978:1). In Africa, religion is a holistic affair and numerous forms of worship that have 

controversially come to be known as African Traditional Religion shares some characteristics that 

cut across the continent. There is the intense belief in the God, the supreme being as the centre of 



 

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all spiritual encounters and a host of spirits, both malevolent and benevolent ones. There is also 

the belief in divinities (mostly known as the messages of the will of God), ancestral veneration and 

strong insistence on moral codes (Akrong, 2012). The central-ness of religion in the life of the 

people has been given as one of the reasons why Islam and Christianity could easily infiltrate the 

religious world of the African. Chrisitanity which is the preoccupation of the next section was a 

religion first practiced by the “Whiteman” in the castle but gradually permeated the Ghanaian 

socities witht eh consequent effect that it has more or less taken  over every fibre of the Ghanaian 

society 

2.4.2 Introduction and Growth of Christianity in Ghana 

Bediako (2000) triumphantly notes that: 

Christianity has become a non-Western religion; which means, not that Western 

Christianity has become irrelevant, but rather that Christianity may now be seen for what 

it truly is, a univer  sal religion and that what has taken place in Africa has been the 

significant part of this process (2000:3).  

Indeed, Christianity has become so engrained in every fiber of Ghanaian life that it would be 

difficult to realise that Christianity was not always a part of Ghanaian religious life and that it once 

was a foreign religion, introduced by Western missionaries. 

By the middle of the 1800s, mission work was underway in Ghana (Beeko, 2004). Owoahene 

states that  

in 1828, the Basel missions arrived, followed by the Wesleyan Methodist in 1835; then the 

Bremen in 1847; the Lyons Fathers arrived in 1880; in 1898, the African Methodist 



 

32 
 

Episcopal Zion; and only in 1904 did the society for the Propagation of the Gospel in 

Foreign Parts return (Owoahene, 1998:87) 

The core characteristics of the mission churches were the need to bring ‘light’ to a dark continent 

through the word of God. However, constant ill health led to the death of the first batch of 

missionaries who arrived on the coast of Ghana (Knispel and Kwakye, 2006). It was realized that 

the solution to this problem then was to educate Ghanaians to serve as propagators of the gospel. 

This was achieved  through education and the Basel mission was a pioneer in this pursuit. As early 

as 1751, the chaplain Thomas Thompson sent four African students to be educated in England. 

The aim of this education was to develop a corps body of educated Ghanaian Christians elite (Men) 

who could assist with the propagation of the gospel. This was exemplified in the person of Philip 

Quaquo who worked as a schoolmaster and pastor at Cape Coast (Clarke, 1986). 

The education provided by the missions proved extremely useful in gaining the critical mass 

required to take over the administration of the church when the missionaries were no more. For 

instance, when the Germans lost the Second World War and had to turn over all their colonies, the 

Basel mission left the administration in the hands of the competent Ghanaians, who were able to 

self-govern the church with some assistance from the United Free Church of Scotland. The mission 

in Ghana, as early as 1926 became known as the Presbyterian Church of Gold Coast, becoming 

fully independent by 1950.  

As a result of its association with missionaries and colonialist, the church was and continues in 

some ways to be associated with colonialism. The church has however sustained animosity and its 

activities have become an integral part of the Ghanaian life. This is because the church holds both 



 

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spiritual and sio-political importance Ghanaian society. Over the years, the church seem ot take 

absolute control of the spiritual life and needs of the people. 

The church has been known to take the lead in the provision of social services such as education 

Larbi cites Burrect as havng noted that “the mission schools alobe bore the burden of educational 

work during the greater part of the nineteeth century (Burrect, cited in Larbi, 199:18). The church 

took the leade in building schools and providing formal education. The Basel mission for example 

established the first college in 1848 at Akropong. This remained the only training college in the 

country until 1909. While the education initially provided has been described by some authors as 

geared towards “enslavement of the mind, not independence” (Addo, 1999:128), it in no doubt 

laid the foundation  for education in Ghana and  it is this eduction which produced the future 

independent figters. 

The church is also known for its contribution to health dlivery in the country. Indeed, orthodo 

medicine, which was introduced by the missionaries proved effective in treating killer diseases 

such as Malaria As far back as 1885, Dr Rodilf Fisch held an Out-Patient clinc in Aburi. Other 

notable health post included a 1922 60-bed hospital at Agogo.  

The church continues to led I the provision of the spiritual as well as the social services such as 

health in the country. The spiritual role of the church is evident in the different kinds of  religious 

movements that have sprung up since the original Portestant churches wer introduced. In terms of 

education and health, the church continues to be a leader and some churches have gone as far as 

to establish tertiary institution and renowned heatlh centres. 

  



 

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2.4.3. Protestant ( Mission) Churches 

The churches that were brought from Europe and that   have their roots in missionary work have 

come to be known in Ghana as the Mission Churches. These include the Catholic Church, Anglican 

Church, the Methodist church, the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, the Baptist convention of Ghana. 

However, for the purposes of this study, I turn my attention to the Protestant churches within the 

mainline churches, mainly the Presbyterian, Anglican, and Methodist Church of Ghana. I use these 

churches because they have similar practices in terms of church administration, with consequent 

effects on the involvement of the CW. 

Protestant churches are similar in outlook to the Christianity which was introduced by the 

missionaries. Cashen, for instance, notes that “the theology that the missionaries brought in the 

eighteenth century, which most western denominations no longer hold to, is the dominant theology 

found in Ghanaian congregations” (Cashen, 2010:22). Protestant churches shy away from the 

inclusion of African belief systems and practices in their worship. While there is evidence of the 

introduction of some practices such as singing and drumming into these churches, they remain 

closer to “traditional Christian” practices in comparison with African Independent churches. 

Protestant churches in Ghana do not have an individual as the originator and the churches have 

established rules and guidelines of operations of the churches. There are governing bodies that 

determine the activities and finances and the running of the churches. However, the administration 

of the churches is decentralized from the national bodies, through the district and dioceses to the 

individual churches or societies. Even within the individual churches, there are officers such as 

Presbyters, Wardens, Leaders, Stewards and other employed staffers who run the day to day 

administration of the church. There is therefore what Adasi describe as the “belief in democratic 

participation by both the laity and the ordained in church governance” (Adasi, 2016:15). This 

limits the powers of the clergy and thus prevents the clergymen or leaders from running the church 



 

35 
 

on their own whims and caprices. This also means that CWs in these denominations work within 

the structures of the church and are therefore restricted in their actions. Adasi, for instance, notes 

that when women occupied a prominent place in mission work it was as wives of missionaries. 

They generally “did not play any direct leadership role in the early life the church” (2016:11). This 

does not seem to have changed much since CWs in Protestant churches, although perceived to 

occupy a place of importance in the church are not formally recognized by church machinery in 

the direct day to day administration of the church. Women can, however, rise to the highest level 

of priesthood, at least in the three Protestant churches used for this study. 

2.4.4 African Initiated Churches (AICs) 

However, the later part of the 1800s was to experience a fracture that would forever change the 

face of Christianity in Ghana. African Initiated Churches, also known in some literature as African 

Instituted Churches or African Independent Churches was the phenomenal development that took 

place in the mission churches in the latter part of the 1880s. These churches changed the history 

of Christianity in Africa in general and Ghana in particular. All these fractures, divisions and surge 

of different Christian churches and denominations in Ghana have not occurred in a vacuum. They 

have happened in a complex socio-cultural, economic and political atmosphere spanning from the 

1930s till now. The rise of Ethiopian or Zionist movement has been attributed to the political 

stirrings that occurred after the Second World War. These were the days of the Pan African 

excitements when most Africans had started questioning the legitimacy of the Western as colonial 

masters and religious leader (Encyclopedia of Religion, 2006). Others have also noted that the 

missionary education and development of indigenous languages provided the African with the 

medium through which they could express themselves and their need to worship God in their own 

ways and on their own terms (Asamoah Gyadu, 2018). The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 has 

been seen as one of the foremost factors for the rise of African Independent Churches (Clarke, 



 

36 
 

2006). The missions that had presented an ever powerful and all knowledgeable God to the African 

did not seem to have a solution to the influenza pandemic. The rise of prophets such as Harris and 

Watson, who were purported to have healing powers, therefore filled this gap. On the other hand, 

the rise and proliferation of Pentecostalism has been credited to the external Pentecostal 

revivalism, and the that of Chrismatism to the harsh economic conditions of the 1980s,  and the 

work of Para religious organisations such as the Scripture Union (SU) that became the training 

grounds for future Pastors.  

In the classification of AICs, I work with Sackey’s four classifications a) The Separatist, 

Secessionist, schematics or Ethiopian Churches b) independent or Spiritual Churches, c) 

Pentecostal Churches d) Charismatic Churches.  

2.4.4.1 The Separatist, Secessionist, Schematics or Ethiopian Churches  

These were the churches that have been described as having separated “based  broadly on political 

grounds, protesting against discrimination in leadership position, among other things” (Sackey, 

2001:43). Exemplified by prophets such as Garrick Braid Sokari, Turner described them as “an 

independent prophet movement within an All-African and virtually independent church… (Turner, 

1967:1) who “used religion as a protest against European colonial rule and as a means to pursue 

the policy of African self-expression and freedom from missionary control” (Clarke, 2006:7). 

Garrick who started the movement in 1912 was arrested by the British colonial administration 

under the pretext of being a political agitator for preaching against the consumption of alcohol 

which was an economic commodity. The real reason for this arrest, of course, was the fact that the 

Anglican Church could not control the popularity of Garrick. The people were quick to see through 

the real reason behind the arrest and thus finally left the church to “form themselves into the 

Independent Christ Army” (Clarke, 2006:66). 



 

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2.4.4.2. Spiritual Churches in Ghana 

Known by different local names, they are known especially in Ghana as Sunsumsore (spiritual) 

churches (Sackey, 2001:43). These types of churches have been known as authentic African 

expression of Christianity because of their tendency to appropriate African traditional worldviews. 

In West Africa, Wade Harris has mostly been associated and attributed with the spread of the faith. 

After receiving the call to preach whiles in prison in Liberia, he travelled along the coast of West 

Africa preaching repentance and burning idols, while healing the sick and afflicted. Harris’s 

ministry was known to be Bible-believing in nature. His travels landed him in Nzema land in 

Ghana, where he met Madam Grace Tani, a traditional priestess who renounced her faith and 

travelled with Harris to Ivory Coast as Madam Harris. Madam Tani returned as a prophetess and 

established the Church of the Twelve Apostles. Another popular example of such churches was 

the Musama Disco Christo Church, formed by Joseph William Egyanka Appiah who broke away 

from the Methodist church after his refusal to put an end to his activities as a prophet (Clarke, 

1986). Some of the major characteristics of these churches are:  its multi-ethnic nature, an emphasis 

on the role of the holy spirit, the prolific use of the cross and the holy water and anointing oil, 

ritual baths and specific dress code (long white dress with a red belt or vice versa with a cape in 

some denominations), and an emphasis on prophets and faith healing. They are also known for 

exorcism especially of evil spirits, particularly witchcraft. A distinct hallmark of most AICs is their 

vibrant mode of worship that incorporates African music, dancing, clapping, and traditional 

musical instruments. These churches do not prohibit the practice of polygamy. However, one of 

the most out-standing features of these churches was their ability to blend African or Ghanaian 

elements with Christianity (Encyclopedia of Religion, 2006; Sackey, 2001). It should, however, 

be noted that Harris himself never started a congregation and advised those he converted to join 

the mission churches.                       



 

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2.4.4.3 Pentecostal Churches in Ghana. 

I make a distinction between Pentecostalism and Charismatics in this work