Grandmothers: A Learning Institution - Basic Education and Policy ...

acceptable for younger women to makedecisions on their own regarding treatmentof sick children and in these situations theyare expected to consult with their motherin-lawor other senior female members oftheir husbands’ family given the experienceand authority of these women vis-à-visyounger women in the household. Castle’swork focuses on child health but it can beassumed that the “hierarchical transmissionof knowledge” (330) from senior to juniorwomen in the household applies not onlyto health matters but also to other areasof children’s development.Guinea: Female genital circumcision iswidespread among different ethnic groupsin Guinée. This traditional ritual, carriedout in different ways in different parts ofthe country, is seen as a necessary step inbecoming a mature woman. A study donein 1999 (Yoder et al.) showed that, whilenowadays, the actual cutting is frequentlydone by trained midwives, overall responsibilityfor organizing this important ceremonyis still conferred on certain seniorwomen, based on their age and authorityin society.Tunisia: In a study on household practicescarried out in all regions of the country,related to management of diarrheal disease(Aubel and Mansour 1989), the roleof grandmothers at the family level wasdocumented. While health facilities arequite accessible in most parts of the country,grandmothers play a leading role in theinitial diagnosis and treatment at home andin the deciding if outside help is required.Younger women are expected to listen tothe advice of senior women in the family,given their age and experience.Burkina Faso: In 1995, a study(APAIB/WINS) on breastfeeding was carriedout in the USAID-supported WINSproject with Mossi and Peuhl communities.Many health and development people inBurkina Faso refer to it as “TheGrandmother Study.” It seems that thiswas the first time that the important roleof the grandmothers, or Yaaba, as they arecalled in Moré, was documented in a communityhealth project.The study concludedthat while grandmothers are not alwaysdirectly caring for children, their advice onall aspects of childcare consistently influencethe practices of younger women.“The Yaaba, or grandmothers, are olderwomen who are known for the experienceand advice that they give to youngerwomen regarding all aspects of childcare…Theyteach women, especially thosewho have given birth for the first time,how to care for their children. It is clearthat the Yaaba play an important role inthe health and nutrition of women andchildren” (5). It was also observed that therole of fathers is, in most cases, to provideresources required to implement the recommendationsof the powerful yaabas.The study concluded that grandmothersshould be involved in rather than excludedfrom child health and development programs.In spite of the initial enthusiasm, inthe ten years since this groundbreakingstudy was done, there do not yet appearto be any programs in the country thathave explicitly involved grandmothers.Also in 1995, one of the conclusions of anevaluation of the AFRICARE child survivalproject in Ganzourgou was that “There is aconsensus between men and women thatGRANDMOTHERS:THE LEARNING INSTITUTION57