Paɣiba Salma | Women's Gold

• Main Author: Eza J. Doortmont
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Nordic Anthropological Film Association (NAFA) 2020-04-01
• Series: Journal of Anthropological Films
• Subjects: feminism; feminist filmmaking; ghana; process; sensorial; ethnography of care
• Online Access: https://boap.uib.no/index.php/jaf/article/view/2908

Shea butter is a product traditionally made solely by women. The demand for this product in the world has grown drastically over the past decades and this has changed the production and production space of the commodity significantly.  Women’s Gold is an observational film, telling the story of the shea butter processing women of Tampe-Kukuo, a community on the outskirts of Tamale, the capital of the Northern Region in Ghana. This documentary investigates ideas of social space, dignity and gaining more than material independence, connected to the shea butter industry. The growing demand in the west means bigger productions, exporting the butter and growing profit, but it also means that the sole women-safe space is not guaranteed for the future.