Queenmothers, a highly underutilised resource
Who are queenmothers? And why do we call them that? They are technically not mothers of queens but queens in their own right, and I make a passionate move for them to be called Queens. They are royalty and the lead female in the royal lineage. They may not be the oldest female but are chosen in Akan culture by the chief in the belief that she best represents the royal lineage and is the most patient, resourceful and caring and, therefore, capable of looking after the entire royal family(ies). It is well if indeed the incumbent answers to that description but in a lot of instances, it does not work well.
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In the non-Akan areas, the rotational system works. The head of the royal family will request the house that should nominate the queenmother to do so. The house then meets, agrees on the individual and presents the person to the head of the royal family. In some other jurisdictions, the Magajia is a respected and an accomplished woman who is placed above all others for the purposes of overseeing issues to deal with women.
They exist in all communities and have a hierarchy that culminates in the paramount queenmother. In Akan areas, all the clans and subdivision such as Kronti, Akwamu, Gyasi all have queenmothers in an intricate and elaborate system that can be a force for good, particularly in the myriad of social issues affecting children, adolescents and women.
Roles
Hitherto when governance was solely the preserve of the traditional system, the queenmothers held their own, adjudicating on issues affecting women in the community, overseeing puberty and ensuring that the next generation of mothers had been brought up properly, learning all the rudiments of womanhood including personal hygiene and preparing them for puberty rites.
In those days if a male had carnal knowledge of a female who had not gone through the rites, the male was extricated from the society. The political system has disempowered them to a good extent, but there is an awful lot that they can do to help the myriad of social problems that plague our society. The whole arena of vulnerability, equity and social protection can be placed on their doorsteps.
Sexual and reproductive health issues, nutrition of the pregnant woman, newborn, the under five year olds and adolescent females, Early childhood education and women empowerment are some of the areas that can be put squarely in the basket of queenmothers. All they will require is a quick run through all these issues, pointing out the essentials and detailing who as a professional will come through with them when they bring the mothers and the adolescent girls together.
Since most queenmothers are mothers and grandmothers, the significance of the issues will be known to them. It is the structure of the conversation and the oversight responsibility that becomes important. If all mothers, after antenatal and postnatal clinics, are to show their cards to the queenmothers, it will ensure that the mothers do attend the clinics. Queenmothers can be at weigh-ins for the newborns and infants and add on to the advice the health professional will give to mothers. They can use the adolescent friendly corners in the hospitals and clinics to provide the necessary advice and support for the adolescent females who are left out in the cold or better still invite them to her palace for conversations, advice and support.
Involvement in social interventions
The benefit of respectable women in all societies playing very active roles in finding solutions to the myriad of social problems cannot be downplayed. To start with, they are indigenes of the community and are respected by all women. It is important at this juncture to also state that to whom privileged positions are entrusted a lot is expected from them. They must also earn the trust and respect of the community. Queenmothers who chose not to live within the community and do not resonate with the people cannot be part of this programme.
All district assemblies must sit with their queenmothers and agree on what can be done for them. It is possible for the assembly to put up mothers hostels where pregnant women who live further from the health facility can move in closer to their delivery time to prevent them from being brought in as emergencies when they run into difficulties. The hostel can be handed over to the queenmother to manage and an agreed percentage can be given them to create a support fund for themselves. The assembly can charge a fee that can be used for maintenance. The rooms can be rented out when vacant to women visiting the communities for other activities. It will ensure that the queenmothers are looked after properly.
The various programmes have some support funding that can also be given to the queenmothers to motivate them to work harder. The results will come through as more mothers go for antenatal and postnatal visits, and weigh-ins, increased supervised deliveries, a greater uptake for immunisation, reduced malnutrition and anaemia in pregnancy and childhood and early participation in education.
We have such a great resource throughout the country and all we need to do is to bring them on board.