The Two Groups of Young Ghanaian Women–The Magicians Vrs the Hustlers

There are two groups of Ghanaian women currently walking the surface of the earth—in and outside Ghana, per my opinion. These women belong to the same generation but have a different approach to life.

While the first group is aggressively looking for every opportunity to make money and is involved in all manner of legal jobs even if not so glamorous, the second group does not intend to lift a finger to work but desires all the expensive things.

I know Ghanaian women who are paid 300 GHS a month for full-time jobs, and others paid about 1,500 GHS for full-time jobs. These women wake up early to join “trotro” to their respective jobs. They swim through layers of stress and sometimes disrespect from their bosses. But they are resilient, and they want to work to earn their own cash—no matter how little.

The second group lives a magical and fascinating life. Without any job or income fetching investments, they still manage to look glamorous, wear the expensive weaves and spend almost all their time on social media. How these people come by guaranteed money each day and night is what makes them magical and their life uncertain.

The first group sets up little businesses, from catering to sewing, in their attempt to define themselves as entrepreneurs, and earn some money. When you meet these women, they mostly wear cheap synthetic wigs—that clearly show signs of over-usage. They are women on a mission, to self-cater and retain a bit of respect as human beings. They mostly do not own a car and on good days rely on uber, and most days “trotro.”

The second group, however, rocks floor-sweeping expensive human weaves and their long painted nails come with them wherever they go. They spend a lot of their time having breakfast, lunch and dinner at posh hotels and restaurants—and when they don’t have a car, they usually ride in ubers or in the passenger seat of a man’s car. ‘Air condition’ is their middle name.

Today seems brighter for the second group of women but the future is darker. When the pendulum of financial support from their enchanted sponsors or preys switches against them, they will be left without a roof over their heads. But they are not bothered, they’ve convinced themselves that their cash flow will never end.

Life can be interesting both today and tomorrow if you play your game well and focus on long term guarantees.

For us, we are mere spectators and writers.