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WORLD BANK 2011 INTERNATIONAL ESSAY COMPETITION

ON YOUTH MIGRATION.

RURAL-URBAN MIGRATION; THE NORTHERN FEMALE

MIGRANTS (KAYAYEI) IN ACCRA, GHANA.

AUTHOR: ABDUL-WAHABI HAMEDA

MARCH, 2011

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Migration is the movement of people from one geographical location in the world to

another. This could occur between continents, within a continent or within a single country. In

Ghana, different forms of migration exist. These include; rural-urban migration, rural-rural

migration, urban-rural migration, urban-urban migration (National Research Council, 2003).

Migration of young individuals in their teens and early twenties could be described as youth

migration.

In Ghana, rural areas are often identified with a low population density. Rural folks in

Ghana mostly engage in primary activities such as, farming, lumbering, fishing, quarrying etc. as

their major occupation. Most of the industries are being concentrated in the urban centers and

thus makes it relatively difficult for the rural folks to make ends meet. This leaves much people

in the rural areas unemployed in most part of the year as this primary or agricultural activities are

seasonal. Most rural people in Ghana have limited access to basic social services, safe water,

roads that are accessible year round, and electricity and telephone services. Poverty is most

severe among rural people, who are mainly traditional small-scale producers. About six in ten

small-scale rural farmers are poor, and many are women. The fate of the youth and students in

rural area is not promising. They are mostly at disadvantage to their counterparts at urban areas

who have easy access to quality education, internet facilities, employment opportunities, better

health care and opportunities for advancement.

Notwithstanding these disadvantages the rural folks are facing, they enjoy certain

advantages. For instance, living in a rural area allows residents to enjoy the natural environment

instead of having to go to recreational sites. In addition, rural people do not have to struggle with

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the daily stresses of urban life such as being stuck in traffic, dealing with higher rates of crime,

and in many cases, paying higher taxes. These situation is one main push factor causing the rural

folks especially young women in the North to move to urban centers having comparative

advantage than the rural areas (thus from the rural areas to the urban centers). The act of moving

from the rural area to the urban centers for economic and social opportunities is termed as rural-

urban migration.

The deleterious consequences of rural-urban migration has led to the demand for urban

socio-economic amenities exceeding their supply, the urban areas often become spectacles of

multifarious problems such as overcrowding, slums, congestion, inadequate housing, high rates

of unemployment and underemployment, crime and other forms of delinquency. The quality of

life in both the rural and urban centers is, therefore, significantly affected and these young

female migrants (Kayayei) in Accra are not exceptions.

2.0 NATURE OF ‘KAYA’ BUSINESS IN ACCRA

‘Kaya’ is a Hausa language meaning luggage, loads or goods. ‘Yoo’ means woman in

Ga, the language of the indigenes of Accra. A ‘kayayoo’ is thus a young woman who carries

other people’s loads on the head for a fee. The plural of ‘yoo’ is ‘yei’, hence; ‘kayayei’ are

women head porters (Opare, 2003). Because such women are ubiquitous in the urban cities

especially in Accra, the terms ‘kayayoo’ and ‘kayayei’ have become part of the Ghanaian

commercial vocabulary. These young women are seen in the markets of Accra mostly in

‘Agbogboloshie’, ‘Makola’, ‘Madina’, ‘Tudu’(all being market centers in Accra). They are often

dressed in long dresses with headgears and in flip flops with each having a basin for carrying the

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loads. No transport is used because in the eyes of the public, the uses of trucks are too laborious

and masculine for women.

A typical Kayayoo starts business as early as 05:00am in the markets of Accra especially

at lorry stations when people arrive with loads. At times, when there is much competition,

Kayayei run after buses containing lugguages in order to carry people’s goods. This is done till

mid day by which time most of them get tired and hungry, they take rest by sitting in groups

under shades to relax, chat and crack jokes among themselves before continuing with the day’s

work again. Kayayei carry loads irrespective of the nature of the weather. It is therefore not

surprising to see them either in the hot sun or during rains.

Picture 1: A Kayayoo resting during mid day.

At night, since most of them do not have homes in Accra, they sleep at the lorry stations

and the lucky ones sleep in uncompleted buildings at a fee. As a form of protection from rains,

Kayayei use rubbers to cover themselves especially during sleep at night. An observation

revealed that seven (7) out of ten (10) Kayayei are teenage mothers who manage to cater for their

kids as well. Though they do not have any form of recreational facilities available, they however

sing and dance their cultural dances and tell stories when together.

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3.0 REASONS WHY FEMALE MIGRANTS ENGAGE IN KAYAYEI

Generally, unemployment is one of the most serious impediments to social progress in

Ghana and it is worst among women in the Northern rural areas since they are mostly peasant

farmers. This has been a contributory factor to migration as well as unemployment and so the

influx of people from the rural to urban areas who are mainly unskilled in profession causes them

not to fit for the available jobs in the urban cities which are mainly skilled in nature. Hence,

many of the young women engaging in Kayayei.

The rainfall pattern in the Northern part of Ghana has been erratic and one of the reasons

why most of these young women migrate to the capital city to work as head porters. This is

because the women are mostly peasant farmers who rely solely on rain. However, during the

rainy seasons too, most of them are sometimes displaced as a result of floods which may also

lead to incessant crop failures with low incomes and poverty. Most of the young women then

find it economically wise to move out of the area to Accra to work as head porters (Kayayei), at

least temporarily.

Conflicts in the North have increasingly caused people and especially women to migrate

out of their home of origin to the South. These mostly come in the form of ethnic/tribal,

chieftaincy or even political conflicts. Some examples include; Konkomba, Dagomba and

Nanumba ethnic conflicts in 1994 to 1995 which caused most people lose their properties,

unbearable suffering and other conflicts in the Upper East region. Most people get displaced

because of insecurity in their homes and thus, accounts for some reasons of migration to Accra.

(Abdul-Korah 2004; Awumbila and Ardayfio-Schandorf, 2008).

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It is also an undeniable fact that most of the migrant women are normally influenced by

their peers. This observation can be inferred in the Exodus study by Catholic Action for Street

Children (CAS) & UNICEF (1999), which explains that most of the youths are encouraged to

enter life on the streets by their peers. Upon interactions with some Kayayei in Accra, it was

realized that most of them were actually influenced in different ways. Friends who return back

home do not explain or portray the challenges and hardships they go through rather, they

encourage them to take part in Kayayei as a profit making job.

Another reason that was common upon interactions with Kayayei at the Madina market

was the fact that head load carrying as a job for the female migrants served as a preparational

tool for marriage, most of them emphasized on this reason. Interestingly, a kayayoo had this to

say: “When my friend returned back home in Savelugu for her wedding, she had bleached,

looking attractive and pretty. She brought a whole lot of cooking utensils and clothes which were

all displayed on her wedding day. It was so beautiful and I would not want to be embarrassed

during my wedding so I decided to come down to Accra as a kayayoo”.

During interactions, some Kayayei migrate to Accra in other to escape forceful and early

marriages. A 17year old Kayayoo stated that she was betrothed to an elderly man old enough to

be her father. Though she did not like the idea, her parents insisted she marries him. As a result,

she escaped one night, left for Accra to become a Kayayoo for she had nowhere to go and no job

at hand.

4.0 CHALLENGES FACED BY THE KAYAYEI

Heavy load carrying as a business by the female migrants is bedeviled with a myriad of

challenges that impedes development of women as well as the country as a whole. Problem, they

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say is not until the people living with it identify it as a problem. Therefore, the challenges are

purely from interactions with some Kayayei and ex-kayayei in Accra.

In Accra, housing is a major problem faced by many people and the Kayayei is not an

exception. These migrant women from the North live in poor houses and their mode of housing

is being affected by all weathers. They take their baths at nearby public bathrooms at a fee of

Ghc 0.10 (US$ 0.07), some end up taking their baths once every two days because of the cost

involved in buying water and using the bathroom. Due to the nature of housing as well as filthy

surrounding, they are often exposed to mosquito and insect bites. As a result, these migrant

women are easily infected with diseases such as malaria, cholera, dysentery among others.

Below are some of the pictures that depict their living environment:

Picture 2: Dilapidated kiosks where some of Picture 3: Public bathroom used by the migrant women live the Kayayei

In addition, one common risk raised by the Kayayei was sexual harassments encountered

from the opposite sex. Kayayei are normally being taken advantage off for the fact that they have

no better housing conditions. They are being deceived and lured into sex whiles others are being

raped. A 15year old Kayayoo in tears told her story; “I was raped by a man I never knew, got

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pregnant and now a mother to a fatherless child. I don’t know where to even trace the man

responsible.” Amazingly, registration of National Health Insurance has become difficult since

they have inadequate money to register. As a result, during pregnancies, they lack both ante-natal

and post-natal care.

Undoubtly, the Kaya business uses manual labour. This has compelled most Kayayei to

take unpresceribed drugs in the form of painkillers after a hard day’s work. Aside unprescribed

drugs that have negative effects on their immune systems, they are also likely to be affected in

the spinal cord and neck in the long run as a result of the heavy loads they carry. This picture

portrays some of the heavy loads they carry in order to make a living;

Picture 4: Kayayei at work

As heavy as the loads are, one may ask how much they charge on each load they carry

but unfortunately, most clients pay at a price they wish to give out no matter the distance and

weight of the load. However, during interactions, on good market days a serious Kayayoo could

earn an average of about GHc 10 (US$ 6.57) and GHc 5 (US$ 3.29) on any other normal market

day as against the Ghanaian minimum wage of GHc 3.73 (US$ 2.45). This comparison may

seem beneficial to the Kaya business but, comparing to their basic needs (food, clothing, better

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housing, and health), social security and other placed priorities, the female migrants do not make

any profit both in the short and long run.

5.0 BENEFITS

Like most other workers, the female migrants in the Kaya business also save incomes

they derive. Most of them save through the informal banking system such as ‘susu’ or with

relatives. ‘Susu’ is a form of saving where specific daily payments are made to an individual

for a period of one month or more. The total amount is made back to the client less one day

after the end of the month. Therefore, the subtracted payment is the profit made by the

individual who keeps the money. The formal banking system is not left out as some save with

the commercial banks once they take their end of month ‘susu’ savings. Savings was

beneficial to them because they are able to get capital to start petty trading or learn a vocation

in dressmaking, hairdressing among others.

The Kaya business has made it possible for some of the female migrants to get three

square meals daily. 20 year old Kayayoo said this when asked what she gains as a Kayayoo:

“As for this business, if I should say it has not benefitted me then, I would be a liar. At least, I

get food to eat three times daily with the little I get.”

Also, marriage as a social value in the Northern Regions enables these female migrants to

have enough time to prepare for marriage through the Kaya business. Kayayei are able to

purchase kitchen equipments, clothes among others before marriage. In otherwise, it reduces so

much dependency on the husband. This helps build the women to be independent in life.

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6.0 IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT

As there are more and more people leaving the rural areas which happen to be the fertile

grounds of development, there become a limited number of labour forces in the rural centres.

This goes a long way to reduce the amount of produce that can be produced to feed the whole

nation and thus, a reduction in agricultural produce leading to a reduction in the nation’s output

and hence a low gross domestic product or national income. This is because the nation is not able

to grow enough food to feed her citizens so she has to import food from outside source to cater

for her shortage which is most at times centered on the urban communities.

As people troop from the rural to urban, they increase the usage of the limited amenities

such as schools, hospitals, markets etc. in the urban areas. This leads to massive and quick

deterioration of the amenities hence, an increase in the cost of repairs and maintenance and thus

government expenditure. The increase in population in the urban areas relative to a constant land

area leads to slums.

When people move from the rural to the urban areas, they have in mind that they are

coming to work to achieve social and economic needs in order to feed people back home. It

becomes a new story when their quest for employment becomes an illusion as there is no job to

absorb them.

As the youth who are the agent of change in the rural areas move to the urban areas, they

leave behind the aged and the too young who cannot effect any meaningful change or

development in the rural areas. Therefore those in whose hands lie the catalyst of change move

to the urban centres in search of greener pastures.

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Another finding that is prominent is the fact that most young females from the North

place priority on marriage even though they would prefer not to marry at tender ages. This

explains why they will migrate to search for jobs to enable them prepare for their marriages.

Finally, it could purely be argued that gender discrimination and other bad cultural

practices do not favour young females in the Northern Regions of Ghana. For instance, it is rare

if not impossible for a young man to be forced into marriage at an early age. Some bad practices

such as female genital mutilation, widowhood rites among others also tend to make young

women vulnerable in their communities and will prefer to migrate.

7.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Though the young female migrants in Accra benefit from the Kaya business, it is much

obvious from above that the challenges they go through outweighs the profits they make.

Therefore, the following recommendations are being made to help reduce the high incidence of

female migration from the Northern Regions to the Southern parts of the country.

The Ministry of Youth and Sports in conjunction with other developmental organizations

should create more job opportunities for the young women in the North. This could be done by

establishing more small scale industries. Micro credit facility should also be made accessible to

female farmers as well as subsidization of agricultural inputs. This can help expand their farms to

increase production and income. This will also go a long way to encourage them farm on large

scales instead of being subsistence farmers.

Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO’s) and other developmental agents should create

and encourage vocational institutions in the North. If this is done, young females could be

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trained in vocations such as catering, dress making, hair dressing etc. Thus, Self-employment

being assured and no need migrating to the capital city to work as head porters.

The Ministry of Works and Housing should assist these vulnerable Kayayei with better

housing facilities. Housing in the form of dormitories could be built and rented out to the

Kayayei at subsidized prices. This will help prevent some diseases such as malaria, dysentery

and other contagious illness and also help reduce the problem of sexual harassments.

The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Children’s

Affairs should intensively promote girl-child education. Education of females from basic to

senior high level could be made free and compulsory. There is also the need to educate and

sensitise the communities from which these young women come from. This recommendation

could help solve the problem of early marriages, bad cultural practises as well as prevent

migration.

Lastly, there is the need for the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in

collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Children’s Affairs to establish contacts with the

female migrants to conscientise the minds of the women in order to erase the idea that Kayayei is

the only healthy and profit making business they can always go into.

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Anarfi, J., S. Kwankye , O.M. Ababia & R. Tiemoko (2003), Migration from and to

Ghana: A background paper, Issued by the Development Research Centre on Migration,

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