“The Dust Chop Your Heart and Kill You”: Constructing Landscapes of Gender and Health Vulnerabilities in Ghana’s Small-Scale Mining.
Topics: Gender
, Feminist Geographies
, Development
Keywords: Gender, health geographies, mining, division of labor, Ghana
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Saturday
Session Start / End Time: 2/26/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/26/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 33
Authors:
Janet Adomako, Rutgers University
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Abstract
The recent explosion of artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) activities in Ghana has wrought various health implications for miners and local people. While much has been written about health dimensions of small-scale mining in Ghana, ASM health studies have largely ignored gender constructions, focusing instead on individualized behavior and mercury exposure. This study addresses this oversight by calling attention to social division of labor in mining. The study draws from ethnographic fieldwork two ASM sites in Ghana to examine the ways ASM health threats are embedded in gendered understandings of mining spaces and activities (underground, above ground etc), producing different health outcomes for men and women miners. Narratives from the ethnographic study suggest gendered extractive practices combine with mining materialities (pits, dust, mercury) to expose men and women to different bodily vulnerabilities. For instance, pit collapse and related injuries and deaths are predominant among male bodies working underground spaces. Similarly, women 'shankers' are most vulnerable to dust inhalation and related respiratory diseases. Yet, women are greatly aware of these risks which lead them to organize childcare to reduce risk for their children. Drawing from health geographies, the study argues for social division of labor to understand ASM health threats as embodied and unevenly experienced among gendered groups.
“The Dust Chop Your Heart and Kill You”: Constructing Landscapes of Gender and Health Vulnerabilities in Ghana’s Small-Scale Mining.
Category
Virtual Paper Abstract
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