The Death of Makola and Other Tragedies

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Periodical article

Title:	The Death of Makola and Other Tragedies
Author:	Robertson, Claire C.
Year:	1983
Periodical:	Canadian Journal of African Studies
Volume:	17
Issue:	3
Pages:	469-495
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Ghana
Subjects:	marketplaces market women Women's Issues Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/484928
Abstract:	On Saturday, August 18, 1979, Makola, the queen of Accra markets, died. The Rawlings government which carried out the destruction of the centre of trade in Ghana, Makola, the chief wholesale and retail market in Accra, probably really thought that destroying Makola would improve the economy. The market women were blamed for Ghana's economic problems. Politics in Ghana has become an economics where attitudes about market women play a crucial role. In the interests of preventing Makola's epitaph from becoming Ghana's, the author traces here the history of the fallacies that felled Makola, and why it was so important. The data for this study were collected primarily from Ga traders. The Ga are the indigenous population of Accra the Ga women dominate the area's trade. Some measures are suggested to foster women's trading as a means of development from below. Bibliogr., fig., notes, sum. in French.