Construction of Masculinity and Domestic Violence against Women: Perspectives from Ghana and Nepal

Abstract

This study explores how men from two different cultural contexts (Nepal and Ghana) construct their masculinity and what is the linkage between masculinity and domestic violence against women. Five (5) male PhD students from the National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA), Bangkok, Thailand were included as research participants and both semi-structured and unstructured in-depth interview schedules were used in the study to explore the multiple views of the participants around the research questions. The findings confirm that there are some broader constructs of masculinity which are practiced and perceived almost in a similar manner, and also some constructs which are practiced and perceived in a different manner in both the countries. The study further confi rms that the participants hold strong motivations in maintaining their masculinity through adopting various means of domestic violence. Therefore, the fundamental assumption of this study is that the relationship between masculinity and domestic violence against women is very strong.