Abstract:
This paper draws upon recent research that explored Muslim youth identity constructions in southern Ghana. At a time when Muslim youth are often demonised and Islam is represented as incompatible with western democratic ideals, the research explored the intersections of nation, religion, ethnicity and gender in identity narratives of female students in high school and higher education in southern Ghana. After describing the Ghanaian socio-historical context, we outline the post-structural and post-colonial theories used to understand key concepts such as identity and youth. We then describe our methodological approach before presenting our intersectional analysis of data from the focus group discussions. This highlights female youths� deep commitments to nation and religion, the marginalisation of young Muslim females in this Christian-majority context, and finally, the identity tensions articulated by participants between different Islamic traditions. We further show how all of these identity constructions were intersected by gender. � 2021 The Institute of Social and Economic Research.
Description:
Crossouard, B., Centre for International Education, Department of Education, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Dunne, M., Centre for International Education, Department of Education, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom; Ananga, E.D., National Centre for Research into Basic Education (NCRIBE), Institute for Educational Research and Innovations Studies (IERIS), University of Education, Winneba, Ghana; Adzahlie-Mensah, V., University of Education, Box 25, Winneba, Ghana; Adu-Yeboah, C., Institute of Education, School of Educational Development and Outreach, College of Education Studies, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana