In the Ashanti Region, female head porters are vying for admission to universities to combat the verbal, financial, and sexual harassment they experience from society.
Some want to be empowered to make a difference in their communities, thus they plan to stop marching through Kumasi’s Central Business District.
Salah Abudu, a 24-year-old head porter, has a difficult life. Due to financial issues, she left school in a rural district in Northern Ghana at the age of fifteen.
She was so frustrated that she tried, but failed, to marry in an attempt to escape her situation.
Salah Abudu and other groups of young girls and women between the ages of 12 and 35 wear heavy aluminum pans on their heads while carrying items.
Working in this unofficial sector, they move mostly from the Northern and Upper West Regions of Ghana to the Southern Region to flee poverty and other damaging customs including forced and child marriages and female genital mutilation.
Head porters play a vital role in the economic growth of marketplaces, especially in busy, vehicle-accessible areas. They are crucial in the movement of products like garments, fish, vegetables, plantains, and yams.
Head porters play a vital role in the economic growth of marketplaces, especially in busy, vehicle-accessible areas.
They are crucial in the movement of products like garments, fish, vegetables, plantains, and yams.
